Dance Dads
by Zikare
Summary: It starts when Rose Weasley takes Ballet class with Cepheus Malfoy. Ron, needing backup, convinces Harry to sign Teddy up for Hip-Hop at the same time; a class Aquila Malfoy is in. As Harry & Draco grow closer, tension becomes apparent between Draco and his ex over custody of their kids. It boils over into a dangerous kidnapping & Harry is called to the rescue. Drarry Slash
1. Chapter 1

Warning: I know I usually write mpreg, but there is NO mpreg in this story! I know, shocking, right?

* * *

Harry's POV:

Being best friends since the age of eleven, Ron Weasley and I did everything together. It started with sharing a dormitory at Hogwarts, proceeded into fighting side by side in the war and defeating Voldemort, turned into a very successful partnership in the Auror Corps, and now included being dads. This Wednesday evening that meant taking the kids to Dance class. Rose wanted to learn Ballet and because Hermione had baby Hugo and her fulltime job to juggle, she insisted Ron do the chauffeuring. Seeing a child with the last name Malfoy on the class roster had prompted Ron to beg Teddy and me to go along for backup. There happened to be a Hip-Hop class going on in the other studio at the same time, so Teddy agreed to give it a go.

Fatherhood was brilliant, in my opinion; I only wished I had more than Teddy. If I could've somehow managed to knock Ginny up before realizing how incredibly gay I am, then at least I would have something to show for the two years I spent trying to make that relationship work. We'd been so hopeful and full of life and exuberance after the war that we assumed life would just suddenly become exactly what we wanted from it. We were due our happily ever after, were we not?

In hindsight, me and Ginny were never meant to be. She was always off gallivanting around the world touring with her Quidditch team, partying into the wee hours of the night, and having a good time. Meanwhile I was busy taking care of Teddy and being an Auror, saving the world one bad guy at a time. I couldn't stay out drinking all night and parties were never really my thing. Not to mention the slow realization that my problem with intimacy had more to do with the female sex of my partner than anything else. Once the boobs were replaced with nice hard cocks, I suddenly understood what was so great about kissing and sex. I never wanted to go back, ever, even for my childhood sweetheart. There just was no longer any appeal for me in a relationship with a partner who had the wrong bits.

Ginny was miffed at me when she found out. She had been the one to break up with me, but she'd assumed that a week or so of separation would wrench me out of my funk and make me realize how much I needed her. She had no idea that it would give me the excuse I needed to play out some of the naughty gay fantasies that had been coming to the forefront of my queer brain. No one could've predicted that one kiss from the right gender would have me melting and wondering why I'd ever tried kissing a witch. I couldn't go back and un-kiss him, any more than I could make myself want Ginny back, but that was all years ago. Now we were friends again and I had Teddy.

Actually, I had Andromeda, Teddy's grandmother too. Teddy lived with Dromeda for three years, only visiting me on weekends. That all changed one scary day when she had a sudden stroke. A very brave three-year-old Teddy had saved his grandmother's life by flooing for help. He'd come to live with me that night and a month later, when she was released from St. Mungo's, Dromeda did too. There was a lot magic could do towards healing someone, but there were some things even magic couldn't fix, such as brain damage. She was still all there, her memories and personality firmly intact, which Teddy and I were grateful for, but she had mobility issues. Kreacher handled most of the tasks she needed help with, but she wasn't up to living by herself or taking care of a young boy. I had plenty of room at Grimmauld Place, so the three of us had formed a cozy little family unit. I would love a larger family, but at least I had Teddy and Dromeda and now it seemed Teddy's dance lessons were to be part of our lives.

* * *

Ron, Rose, Teddy, and I got our first glimpse of the Malfoy family before class started. There were four of them, all blond and pointy-faced. Draco had a toddler on his hip and was holding the hand of a child about Rose's age who was wearing the leotard, pink tights, and Ballet slippers required for class, along with a bun in the apparently long hair. Draco didn't even glace our way, instead his attention focused on the slightly older child skipping along beside him. This child was about an inch taller than the other and had what appeared to be a thin French braid running around the front of her hairline like a headband, while the rest of her shoulder length hair fell in loose curls. I was guessing it was a girl by the hair style, because the baggy pants, plain shirt, and sneakers were the same as the ones Teddy was wearing for the Hip-Hop class.

The older Malfoy child skipped into one of the open doors, waving Draco off cheerfully, before joining a growing mass of similarly dressed school-aged children in the first studio. Draco looked after his oldest, pausing in the doorway a moment, probably to verify that the dance teacher was indeed inside and supervising, before he continued on to the second studio with his other two children.

I took Draco's place at the door to the first studio with Teddy at my side. "Well I guess this is us," I said.

Teddy nodded, glanced up at me, and replied, "Yeah. See ya Harry."

"Don't you want me to go with you? It looks like the parents are allowed to sit and watch over there." I pointed to the benches where a dozen or so parents were perched, watching children run around the wooden floor.

"No, I'll be fine. Besides, Uncle Ron said he needs you to hold his hand, 'member?" Teddy asked mischievously.

"Alright, but if you need us, we'll just be in the other studio," I said, Teddy dashing away before I got the last half out.

I turned back to the hall, where I saw Ron wearily eyeing the door to the other studio, five-year-old Rose holding his hand for support.

"You can do this Daddy, Mummy said so," Rose encouraged.

"You really want to be a Ballerina then?" Ron asked, clearly hoping for a last minute cop out on his daughter's part.

"Oh yes, Daddy! Ever so much!" Rose exclaimed, eyeing excitedly the room of children lined up in neat rows. She had a twinkle in her blue eyes reminiscent of the look Hermione got when faced with a library full of unread books.

"Come on Daddy, get a move on. All of the seats are already taken," I complained, pushing Ron on the shoulder to indicate he should enter the Ballet studio.

The teacher in this room was already starting class and motioned for Rose to come join them. Ron and I made our way towards the parents' area, figuring we'd be stuck standing the entire time, but to our surprise, Draco got up with the toddler Malfoy and motioned for us to take his seat. I was in the process of refusing, both on the grounds that Draco had gotten there first and that Draco had a child, but he just shook his head and left the studio. Ron took the now open seat as I watched Draco go. The door was open and I could see Draco stop at the reception desk before eventually disappearing in the direction of the exit.

When I finally turned back to Ron, he motioned with his chin towards the narrow gap between him and the overweight mother seated on the other end of the bench. I sighed, squeezed in, and began to watch Rose's first Ballet class. It was the beginning of the quarter, so there were two other little girls starting today for the first time as well, but the rest of the children, including the little Malfoy, were repeat students. The ten or so returning students knew the warmup routine so well, I guessed they'd been in the tiny-tot class the year before. The teacher knew those students well too, calling them each by name, which was how I learned that the middle Malfoy child's first name was Cepheus.

"I thought Cepheus Malfoy was a boy. It sounds like a boy's name. Isn't one of the Malfoy children a boy?" Ron asked, muttering quietly into my ear so as not to disturb the entire class.

"I thought so too, but maybe it's the baby," I replied.

"The baby's wearing a purple sparkly stretchy thing," Ron returned.

I shrugged, not having noticed how Draco had dressed his toddler. "Wizards like purple."

Ron nodded at that. "But glitter on a boy? And those pigtails?"

I shrugged again. "At least Malfoy didn't stay. Here you were all worried about being stuck alone with him and he gave up his seat for you," I said.

The overweight mother sitting next to me leaned forward then and interjected, "Malfoy never stays. Equuleus cries."

"Equuleus?" Ron asked with a snort. "Cepheus and Equuleus, Merlin and I thought Draco was bad."

I didn't mention that Draco would probably have an equally low opinion of the names Ron and Hermione had chosen. I liked the name Rose, but I'd hoped they'd change their mind about naming the baby Hugo. Unfortunately it was now too late, so I was determined to keep my mouth shut about my dislike for the name.

"With names like that, how are we supposed to tell if they are girls or boys?" Ron whispered.

I shrugged again, mostly because this was a public place and as the Hero of the Wizarding World, anything I said would probably end up in the morning paper. I did not need to be quoted saying anything anti-Pureblood. Ron did that enough for the both of us, but at least he was a Pureblood, so he was allowed to talk. As a Half-blood, I liked to watch what I said about Pureblood culture, including their choice in names.

There was a short break in the Dance class as the dozen or so children were sent scurrying towards the parents and the hall water fountain for a drink. Rose ran straight to Ron and tugged at the sleeve of his robe. He promptly conjured a goblet and filled it with water, before handing it over. Rose drank deeply, splashing water on the floor and all down the front of her leotard, before handing it back.

Meanwhile the Malfoy child approached me with a polite, "Excuse me," before bending and picking up an unnoticed metal flask from under our bench. Cepheus drank neatly, returned the flask, and resumed position standing on the dance floor.

Rose glanced over her shoulder to see Cepheus go, noticing that the other children were returning as well. "Daddy, you weren't watching me. You're 'posed to watch me," she whined.

"I was watching Rosie," Ron reassured.

"No, you were talking to Uncle Harry. I saw you," Rose complained.

"Alright, no more talking, only watching, now you better go," Ron said, motioning towards the dance teacher who was waiting for the last few children to return.

Rose took one last gulp of water and thrust the cup back towards Ron, who set it on the floor for later.

Ron spent the remainder of the class astutely watching little Rose, waving every time he caught her glancing at him. I waved too, wondering how much longer she would be in this phase before she ventured into the, "Don't embarrass me," phase Teddy was in. Hermione was of the opinion that Teddy had entered the phase earlier than normal, possibly due to all of the attention of being the Savior's adopted son and the biological son of a pair of martyred war heroes.

After class the mad dash for water was repeated, with Rose hitting up Ron and Cepheus retrieving the flask from under our bench. Draco reentered the room, toddler still on hip, and handed his middle child a small stack of cards. The returning students seemed to know what the cards were and dashed over to grab theirs from Cepheus, before allowing their parents to cart them away. The other two new students were already on their way out the door with their parents, so Cepheus took off running after them, making sure they received their cards.

"If you would be so kind to wait for my son to return, he has a card for Miss Weasley," Draco said in our general direction, summoning the metal flask with his wand and tucking it away in a nappy bag he wore slung over one shoulder.

"Your son?" Ron asked in disbelief. He looked from Draco, to Cepheus, and then back to Draco. "Surely not that one?"

"Erm, I take it Cepheus is your son?" I hedged, slightly more delicately.

Draco looked at each of us then, making eye contact for the first time that day. "Yes, he is," he said proudly. "But surely you two figured out that he was mine from the resemblance and the fact that he arrived here with me." Draco leveled a disapproving glare at me and Ron, daring us to say something.

"Yeah, but I didn't think you would dress your son up like a girl!" Ron said incredulously.

"I let my son dress himself. He had his choice of the two outfits approved for this class and he wanted to wear the one that all of the other children wear. I see you dressed your daughter the same," Draco said snootily.

"Yeah, because she's a girl," Ron stated the obvious, in a manner that was at the very least mildly offensive, even to me and it wasn't my child he was saying it about. As a gay wizard I had been embraced by gay wizarding society and now knew that included men who liked to dress in women's clothing. Such a preference, I was told, sometimes started in early childhood, which was what I figured was going on here. This was unexpected, especially of Draco Malfoy's son, but I at least was willing to embrace it.

"I take it then that your anti-Pureblood stance applies only to the aspects of Pureblood culture I support. I am sure you will soon announce a need to revert to the old ways of strictly enforcing gender stereotypes. You'll be the perfect spokesperson for the campaign to outlaw crossdressing in children under the age of five," Draco said to Ron with a sneer of disdain.

Ron was stunned speechless at the accusation. I was about to insist that I wouldn't allow Ron to do any such thing, but Cepheus came running back over in his leotard and Ballet slippers, excitedly holding the last card out to Rose. "Can you come to our manor for a playdate? Father lets us have a dance party on the third Saturday of every month! It's so much fun you have to come and I have a new tutu to show you! It's pink and sparkly and makes me look like a fairy princess!" Cepheus exclaimed happily.

Ron started to speak, but I stepped on his toe to shut him up. Somehow I didn't think my best friend could manage to make the observation that the Malfoy child already looked like a fairy princess not come off insulting. "I am sure it is lovely and that Hermione would agree that a playdate is a wonderful idea," I said, eyeing Ron sternly, hoping that he'd get the message.

"Oh I'm sure, if the two of them are not too busy getting a divorce once they realize that I support Wizard/Muggleborn unions. I even teach my children that they are free to marry Muggles when they grow up. Given Weasley's insistence on doing the opposite of whatever I do, I suspect his marriage will not last much longer," Draco said with a wicked smirk.

"I don't think Ron will continue down such a stupidly destructive track," I interceded.

Ron finished his opened mouthed gaping, stiffened, and replied, "I don't have a problem with marrying Muggles, I was just a little surprised to learn that you support whatever it is that is happening here." He gestured towards Cepheus.

"In my house, we call it fashion," Draco supplied to Ron, before leaning down towards the children, interrupting Cepheus, who was still eagerly chatting Rose up about dresses and Ballet. "Just the same, Rose darling, would you mind asking your mummy to bring you to the playdate? I'm afraid your daddy doesn't know how to dance and I do not believe we have a tutu in his size. We wouldn't want him to feel left out by not letting him wear a tutu."

Rose and I giggled at that. She too was probably picturing Ron wearing a tutu.

"What about Uncle Harry?" Rose asked.

"Oh he's fine. He can borrow one of my old tutus if he doesn't have one of his own," Draco answered.

"You have a tutu?" I asked surprised.

"Yes, but if you would excuse me, I am missing Aquila and the Father and Me class is about to start in the other room," Draco replied, grabbing Cepheus' hand and looking down at the child. "Do you have all of your things?" Cepheus held out a wrist complete with sparkling beaded bracelet and nodded his head. "Good, come along."

The Malfoys left, heading towards the other studio. There was another Ballet class already gathered in this studio; a larger number of older girls, with fewer parents. I looked around, thinking that Teddy might have come in to find us when his class ended, but he was nowhere in sight.

"I need to find Teddy. He's probably still back in the other room," I said to Ron.

Ron nodded and motioned for me to go ahead, while he gathered Rose's things. Apparently the child had flung off her Ballet slippers and pulled her thick curly red hair out of the bun holder, not to mention the drinking glass that still needed to be vanished.

I searched for Teddy in the now crowded hallway, before forcing my way into the first studio to look for him. He was indeed there, running around with the oldest Malfoy child, who I was now even less certain was a female. But the fact that Teddy had apparently made such fast friends with a Malfoy and forgotten about me utterly paled in comparison to the other sight in the room: Draco Malfoy was sitting cross legged with the youngest Malfoy in his lap. He and a number of mothers with young children were lined up on the floor, ready to start the Mommy and Me class. This time the people sitting on the benches at the side of the room were all older children, including Cepheus, who was quietly drinking once more from the metal flask and pawing through the nappy bag.

"Teddy," I called, trying not to be too loud and draw attention to myself, but also trying to be loud enough for him to hear me over the noise of the crowd.

"Harry!" Teddy exclaimed, running towards me with the oldest Malfoy child at his heals. Teddy was a good three inches taller than his new friend and they were both sweaty from their hour long dance workout. "Aquila invited me over for a playdate! I can go, right?" Teddy asked, excitedly holding up a card identical to the one Cepheus had given Rose.

"We will have to check with your gran. It's on a Saturday and you know how she likes to spend time with you," I replied. Dromeda and I split duties when it came to taking care of Teddy. I picked him up from the Burrow after work, she helped him with his homework, I handled bath time, and we shared story time. Weekends though were less regular. Sometimes we all stayed home, sometimes we all went to the Burrow, and other times one or the other of us would take Teddy with us somewhere. We worked as a team to raise him and it usually went smoothly, in large part due to the fact that we always cleared plans with the other before committing.

"She can come too! My Grandmother will be there," Aquila supplied.

"I will ask your dad about it," I replied noncommittedly to the Malfoy child. The invite was for Teddy, not Dromeda and there was history between her and the Malfoys.

"Please Harry? I really want to go," Teddy wheedled, turning his eyes green and making them larger.

"We'll see, but we must be going," I replied, eyeing the hallway where Ron was now waiting with Rose.

"When you come, remember to bring something you can dance in _and_ something you can eat and play in. This group can normally find something that works for both, but my brother's Ballet friends always come in those dorky frilly bathing suits that they can't run around in," Aquila added. Apparently this Malfoy wasn't into Ballet or leotards, which might explain why he/she was in the Hip-Hop class.

"Thanks for the warning; I'll be sure to pass it along," I said.

Teddy and I exited the studio then, but Ron made no move to exit the building. Instead he motioned me to the side of the door, allowing the other parents to enter, exit, and generally block us from view of the dancers inside.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Rose is in the bathroom, so I'm spying on Malfoy. Look at him, he's the only dad in the Mommy and Me class," Ron answered.

"Well you were the only dad in Rose's Ballet class," I replied.

"That's different. Why isn't his wife here doing the Mommy and Me class with the kid? Why is it that he takes the kids to Dance class and not her?" Ron asked, probably thinking that Malfoy's wife would be more tolerable, even though none of us had ever met her.

I shrugged. "Maybe for the same reason you are taking Rose: his wife works."

"That's right, she's a famous Healer, isn't she?"

"I believe so…" In truth, I knew for a fact that Draco's wife was a world renowned Healer, but I didn't want to give away that my obsession with the wizard hadn't ended after Hogwarts. I frequently wondered how it was she held down a full-time job in Switzerland while living in Wiltshire; she must be a powerful witch to apparate that far every day and still be in top form to practice medicine, but again I dare not voice my curiosity.

Ron shrugged. "Well anyway, now we know why he's dressed like that." He nudged his chin in Draco's direction.

I try not to look at men when I have Teddy around, especially hot men, like Draco Malfoy. I glanced now and took in the black stretchy fabric as it moved with his body as he and the littlest Malfoy did their stretches. They were bending down to touch their toes, which put Draco's arse on display for me to ogle. His toddler was bent down too, but she was squatting to touch her toes. Again I was guessing on the sex, but figured Ron was probably right about this one being a girl, because her hair was in two short braided pigtails and she wore a sparkly purple stretchy outfit with ruffles on the bum.

"Yeah, I'm surprised he's not trying to dance in dress robes," I added as Rose finally came out of the loo.

"Well this was fun, but we better get home before dinner gets cold," Ron said, taking Rose's hand.

I agreed and we were off to the nearest floo connection in the lobby.

* * *

Author's Note: I'm trying to go a different route than my usual story with this one, which is a large part of why it has taken me so long to get this one into shape and out to you. Right now I have 13 or so chapters planned. You can expect a lot of fluff in the beginning as the relationship builds, as well as a dramatic ending. Updates will be about once per week. Please let me know what you think so far!


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: I'd like to thank Ern Estine 13624, sghazalifard, and DRARRYLOVR4EVERINMYHEART for reviewing. Your feedback is greatly appreciated!

Author's Note: I'd like to thank Ichigo_Toshimiya for reviewing. Your feedback is greatly appreciated!

Z

Prior to the next week's Dance class, I took the time to look up in the Prophet archives the birth announcements for the three Malfoy children. Cepheus Malfoy was indeed proclaimed to be a male, but what was surprising was that he was only four, half a year younger than Rose and younger than the age requirement posted for the Ballet class. Four-year-olds were meant to be in the Tiny-Tot class, but given the child's obvious talent, enthusiasm, and maturity, it wasn't surprising that he'd been moved up.

Aquila and Equuleus, the main reasons behind the exercise in sorting through old birth announcements, both proved to be girls after all. They looked like girls and dressed like girls, but so did Cepheus and I was not about to make another mistake with the gender of the Malfoy children. Aquila, the oldest, was six. She looked six and was in the Hip-Hop class for six to ten year olds, so there was no surprise there. Equuleus proved to be several months shy of two, which did surprise me, because she was rather on the tall side for her age. But considering that she was in the Mommy and Me class meant for children under the age of two, it wasn't too surprising, especially given that her brother and father were also on the tall, lanky side.

Armed with the correct pronouns to use with the Malfoy children, Ron and I once again escorted Rose and Teddy to class Wednesday evening. Class started the same, with Teddy following Aquila into the Hip-Hop class and Ron, Rose, and I following the other Malfoys into the Ballet class. Again Draco left the room with Equuleus once class started, leaving only a flask of water behind for Cepheus.

During class Rose made sure to check repeatedly that Ron and I were watching her and not gossiping too much. While the first lesson only covered basic Ballet moves, this lesson was the start of their preparation for the mandatory end of term dance recital. Rose's inattention to the teacher combined with the fact that she was a novice to Ballet resulted in her being assigned the role of third dragonfly. Cepheus was first dragonfly and in charge of leading the dragonfly group into action at the right time. All of the first insect roles went to the more experienced children who would be better able to learn their cues and thus lead their groups at the correct times.

The dozen plus children were divided into four groups: the butterflies, the dragonflies, the pixies, and the fairies, each of which was to learn a different part for the show. The Ballet teacher worked with the groups one at a time, with the other children told to practice standard steps at the bar. Midway through the lesson, with the teacher focused on the pixie group, Cepheus asked to use the restroom and was granted permission. Since Draco wasn't around and Ron and I were the only dads in the place, I took it upon myself to follow after, assuming that the child would need assistance getting out of that Ballet costume.

Cepheus went into the boy's loo, heading straight for the urinals.

"Do you need help with that?" I asked, motioning with one hand to the skin-tight leotard. Rose always had trouble getting her arms out of the straps on the top part. I knew this because Ron had complained about the thing and mentioned that he had to get her arms out of it for her _before_ sending her in to use the loo. That, of course, was part of his most recent rant about why dance lessons really ought to be Hermione's domain. Ron's negative interaction with Draco the previous week was the main reason behind said rant, but that aspect was downplayed in favor of arguments that he felt would gain more traction.

"No, it's okay, I got it. My father already fixed it," Cepheus answered, reaching in and re-adjusting himself.

I averted my eyes, not wanting to infringe on the child's privacy, and exited the lavatory. I didn't need the details of how Draco had fixed the problem, but I was glad he hadn't just left his young son to fend for himself.

After class Rose came running up to Ron and jumped in his lap. "I'ma dagonfly Daddy! Dagonflies are the best!" she announced happily.

"I know, I saw princess. You'll have to work extra hard to learn it all, but I'm sure you'll make the prettiest dragonfly of the bunch," Ron said reassuringly, punctuating the sentiment with a kiss to Rose's cheek, which she wiped off with a giggle.

"All of the dragonflies are pretty," Cepheus interjected, screwing the lid back on his flask of water. He'd silently come over and retrieved it as usual.

I was beginning to get the impression that this was a prim, proper, and self-sufficient child. It seemed to me an odd combination with the cross-dressing, owing to my natural assumption that any male child who was allowed to take Ballet class and dress as a Ballerina would have to be free-spirited and likely raised by hippie parents. But that style didn't suit Draco and didn't fit his son either. No, it seemed that Draco had managed to preserve a lot of the stiff-upper-lip hoity-toity Pureblood stuff while still allowing the child to be himself. Or maybe the neatness and calm demeanor were just innate to Cepheus.

"Yes, of course," I agreed, as the Ballet teacher cleared her throat to get the class's attention. I noticed then that Draco, Equuleus ever on his hip, had reentered the room and was standing by the teacher's side.

"Quiet now, Cepheus has an announcement he would like to make. Cepheus?" the Ballet teacher requested.

Cepheus nodded and skipped into the center of the room, metal flask in hand. "The big dance party is this Saturday! Don't forget to come ready to get down," he announced, wiggling his little bum at the end to emphasize his point.

Draco put a hand on his son's shoulder, smiling down approvingly as he said a quiet, "Well done."

The three Malfoys then went over to where the other two new students were, ostensibly to reaffirm the details of the dance party. I knew perfectly well where Malfoy Manor was located, but I did have a question for Draco, so I stayed behind as Ron gathered up Rose and her things and headed towards the loo.

Most of the other children and parents cleared out, leaving just the Malfoys and the new comers. I heard Draco giving floo directions to his manor and reiterating the party time and dress code. One mother jotted down notes, while the other nodded, saying, "Of course Jessica and I will be there. Your Cepheus seems like such a nice little girl that we'd be glad to come."

"Cepheus is a nice little _boy_ ," Draco corrected. "He's also gorgeous, talented, and smart. I couldn't ask for a better son."

Both mothers looked taken aback, neither having noticed that the Malfoy child in the leotard was male. The mother who had spoken nodded, seeming to accept the correction with minimal effort. Meanwhile a look of confusion and disbelief crossed the other mother's face. Mum number two tucked her pen and pad in her purse, eyed Draco sternly, and asked, "Are you telling me that you let your _son_ dress like that?"

"Yes, I am. He will also be dressed similarly at the party, so if you have a problem with me letting my child be himself, feel free to consider yourself uninvited," Draco said. "Maybe there is someone less judgmental who could bring your daughter?"

"Why I never," the mother with the notes replied.

"I can tell. Ignorance suits you," Draco replied with a scowl.

I decided to step in before this came to blows in front of the crowd that was swelling with mums and kids awaiting the next class. "Draco, could I speak with you for a moment?" I asked.

"Certainly, Potter," Draco said, leaving the mothers behind and stepping over towards me.

"Hermione has agreed to come with Rose, but Teddy and I cannot come without bringing his grandmother Andromeda Tonks with us. Will that be a problem?" I asked.

"Andromeda Tonks, as in my Dear Aunt Andromeda?" Draco asked in return.

"Yes, that's the one," I confirmed.

"Aunt Andromeda has been my favorite aunt by default ever since I met my other aunt. I would be delighted to meet one of my sane relatives for once. She is…um, in her right mind, I assume?"

"Yes, most definitely."

"Good to hear. I look forward to meeting her." Draco paused, before asking, "Can you pass a message on to Mrs. Ronald Weasley for me?"

"Um, sure?" I replied, unsure what sort of message Draco could possibly have for Hermione.

"Please let her know that siblings are welcome to come along to the playdates. I believe there are other Weasley children…"

"Yes, Rose has a baby brother, but I think he's too little to come."

"Nonsense, babies love dancing and music. Besides, Equuleus' baby friends will be there."

"I'll pass the message along, but I really can't see her bringing both kids," I replied.

"That's all I ask. Now if you will excuse me, Equuleus and I have a lesson in modern dance to attend," Draco said with a smile. He was once again clad in tight black dance clothes and I watched his firm rump walk away, the baby Malfoy looking back at me with her thumb in her mouth and her pink unicorn-patterned ruffled skirt scrunched up and showing her nappy on the side.

I followed after, unable to stop staring at Draco's arse, on my way to locate Teddy. I found Teddy still in the other dance classroom, dancing with Aquila. Having run ahead of his father, Cepheus was first to reach Teddy and Aquila and quickly joined in the fun, obviously already knowing the dance move. All three of them were doing a twisting motion as they bent at the knees to the floor and then twisted back up. I had never seen Teddy do this before and figured they must've covered it in today's Hip-Hop class.

I watched as the three children continued to dance, none of them paying any attention to me. I considered calling Teddy away from his fun, but first glanced out to the hall to see if Ron was waiting. Ron was in sight, but clearly waiting for Rose to finish in the girl's restroom and not for us. Thus I found a spot by the door where I wouldn't be in the way to wait and watch.

Draco took a seat on the floor with the other parents and toddlers, sitting Equuleus down by his side. Equuleus wasn't having it and instead shot right back up. Before Draco could grab her, she ran over to Teddy and her older siblings and copied the twisting dance move, her ruffled skirt making a rustling sound as she moved. She was so adorable that I couldn't help but smile.

"Yes, yes, Quuleus, dancing time, but you are supposed to dance with Father over there," Draco said as he came forward and scooped his youngest back up and pointed to their place on the dance floor.

My eyes followed Draco as he and Equuleus sat back down; this time he kept one hand on the child's wrist so that she didn't run off, but rather danced next to him. I looked from Draco and the littlest Malfoy, then back out to the hall, catching Ron's eye. Ron mouthed the word, "Pooping," and rolled his eyes in exasperation at the amount of time girls took in the loo. I nodded, secretly happy for the chance to watch the Malfoys more. Draco watching was always one of my favorite activities and it seemed that didn't end with school.

Despite the fact that Draco was married with three young children, he was still young and fit. He, Ron, and I were all in our mid-twenties, but Ron was starting to go pudgy around the middle, despite the long hours of physical activity associated with our jobs as Aurors. I probably had a bit more muscle tone in my legs, but Draco looked like he had bigger biceps, probably from carrying his youngest around all day. Maybe the dance class helped him keep in shape or maybe he worked out while the kids were in school, but whatever the reason, the object of my obsession was fit.

Now that I knew I was gay, I was aware of the fact that Draco Malfoy was my type. I liked them tall, blond, and slender. And yes, a bit pointy and regal looking with a cutting wit was also on my list of turn-ons. I loved kids, so the three children were a plus, especially because he seemed to be a good dad who was very active in his children's lives. There is nothing that gets on my nerves more (right up there on my list of pet peeves with Pureblood supremacy and bigotry) than a wizard who has been given the gift of children and doesn't appreciate it, but that was probably because of my current longing for them.

From the short exchanges I'd had with Draco today and last week, I got the impression that he'd changed a lot since school. He was more mature and grown-up, in a good way. He'd mentioned being pro-mix-blood marriages, joking that that would make Ron against the idea and break up Ron's marriage to Hermione. To me that meant Draco still had his sense of humor, but the horrendous Pureblood ideals had been replaced. And well, there is nothing more New School of parent rearing than letting your son take Ballet class and run around in a leotard and tutu. Cepheus was definitely a cross-dresser and possibly gay. Draco was the perfect supportive father, standing up to that mother who had had a problem with it today and Ron last week. It was the type of thing that had me swooning. If only Draco wasn't married. And straight. Sadly for me, married and straight were both game enders when it came to boyfriend material.

The Mommy and Me class looked fun, with the parents and toddlers bouncing around to one of the most popular songs on the Wizard Wireless at the moment. This class appeared to have less focus, with no mention of an upcoming performance, and more toddlers suddenly making a break for it with parents running after. Draco had it easier than most, because Equuleus's tall frame and long limbs combined with his own long limbs meant that he had less of a challenge bending down and thus managed to grab hold of her before she got away each time she made a move towards her older siblings.

Teddy, Cepheus, and Aquila switched dance moves once the class music started, moving along with the beat. Although neither Cepheus nor Aquila was currently taking Modern Dance, they had no trouble dancing along with the new song. Teddy struggled a bit, but did his best to copy his new friends.

Rose finally came out of the loo then, so I called Teddy to get his attention. He waved to the Malfoys and then left with me, Ron, and Rose.

"Aquila said that she and Cepheus have to stay there for an hour every day after class while they wait for their little sister to have Baby Dance class. She said I can stay and dance with them too," Teddy said as we walked towards the floo.

"But we have to get home to dinner. We wouldn't want Kreacher getting mad at us for letting his cooking get cold and your gran will be getting hungry," I replied.

"Maybe we could invite them over to dinner with us," Teddy suggested, just as we made the fireplace in the lobby.

Ron went through first with Rose, heading to his house and Teddy and I followed after, arriving moments later in Grimmauld Place. "You really like Aquila that much Teddy? You've only had two classes with her," I observed, dusting the soot off of my robes.

"Yeah, she's great! She's loads of fun and said she'd help me with my dancing. I got put behind her, because she's so short, so I basically just follow whatever she does," Teddy replied, toeing off his sneakers and leaving them in front of the fireplace where someone could trip.

I nudged the sneakers to the side of the fireplace and asked, "So what role did you get in the big show? Rose is going to be a dragonfly."

"We're the _dragons_!" he exclaimed, ending it with a roar.

"All of you? There are different flying insects in Rose's class."

"We'll have different types of dragons, but we're all dragons. It's gonna be soooo awesome! Why didn't you ever tell me dancing was fun, Harry?"

"I never knew," I replied truthfully. "Come on, I smell something delicious, let's go investigate."

Teddy stripped then and there, not wanting to get his dance uniform covered in food. I summoned a shirt and shorts, which he slipped into and then we were off to the kitchen, to find out what was for dinner.

Z

Author's Note: Up next will be the dance party at Malfoy Manor and we'll finally get the curtain peeled back and our first proper look at life inside the Malfoy family. What do you expect to see?

I must say I don't think I've ever had a story with such a weak showing for the first chapter. There really are only a few people reading this, so I'm going to need each one of you to give me feedback on what is working and what isn't. Your reviews are more important than ever!


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: I would like to thank Ern Estine 13624, Isabella Ann Malfoy, Belldandy55555, Valorie818, and DRARRYLOVR4EVERINMYHEART for invaluable feedback! You all are awesome and help make this story possible.

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Saturday Hermione took Draco up on his offer and brought six-month-old Hugo along with her and Rose. I had Dromeda with me and Teddy, the lot of us flooing straight into the Malfoy Manor Ballroom. True to the advertising, it was decked out for a dance party, lively music blasting through large magical speakers, streamers lining the walls, and the dance floor already covered in children. The parents were mostly standing or sitting towards the sides of the ballroom, but a few, especially those with the toddlers from Equuleus' class, were out on the floor dancing.

Teddy was dressed in his Hip-Hop uniform and sporting his natural facial features for once, at mine and his grandmother's request. He usually went around with blue hair, green eyes, and my nose and lips thrown in to make us look alike. But he was meeting blood relatives today, so we'd asked him to start off plain; no doubt his hair would be blue again in an hour, but for now it was sort of golden brown. His eyes were their natural hazel, his face heart shaped, and his nose was all Remus. He absolutely hated his nose and I had no doubt it would be changed back to my nose before five minutes were up. It was a shame, because I loved that nose for how much it reminded me of his father.

Teddy recognized a number of his new classmates gathered in a group that included Aquila Malfoy. Aquila was getting her groove on in a pair of Muggle-style baggy basketball shorts and a plain Muggle-style purple t-shirt, dozens of shoulder length braids whipping around her head as she moved. Teddy said a quick, "See ya," and took off at a run to join his friends, just as Narcissa Malfoy approached with a warm greeting.

"The dashing young man I just missed is no doubt my Great Nephew Edward, is he not?" Narcissa asked, after exchanging hellos with what remained of our group. Edward was Teddy's first name, Tonks having named him after her father.

Narcissa was only a few years younger than her sister, but she looked decades younger. Her hair had turned mostly grey and she had clusters of wrinkles surrounding her eyes and the corners of her mouth. Laugh lines, I've heard them called: the type of wrinkles happy people get from laughing and smiling a lot, not the type one acquires from years of hard living. She stood erect and straight, elegantly dressed in smart looking robes that complimented her still trim figure. Despite the war, time had been easy on her.

Dromeda had aged greatly in the last decade after losing her beloved husband, only daughter, son-in-law, favorite cousin, and a large number of close friends. All the grief had taken its toll, with Teddy the only light in her life. Then came the stroke that aged her a decade overnight, carving new wrinkles into her grief sunken face and impairing her mobility. The entire left side of her body was affected, from her left hand, to her left leg, to the left corner of her mouth being unable to turn up in a smile. She now walked hunched over with a cane in her good hand, her bad leg always dragging a bit behind. Her facial expressions only looked normal on the right half of her face and she had trouble dressing, especially with the little things like buttons and collars. But her mind was intact and she was still the same wonderful person as before, so Teddy and I were grateful to have her in our lives.

"Yes, that would be my grandson, Teddy," Dromeda replied, eyeing her sister apprehensively; with the right eye, mind you. It had been many long years since these too sisters had seen each other and even longer since they last had a civil conversation. "He's a Metamorphmagus, so don't be alarmed if his features change. He tends to favor blue hair."

"Yes, how charming. Draco did mention blue hair and I do hope I will have a chance to see it. Oh, it is so wonderful that you could make it! I would love a chance to catch up with you. Perhaps a bit later, after everyone is settled in? If you do not mind, that is?" Narcissa asked politely, with a hint of eagerness as she smiled widely at her sister.

"I think that could be arranged," Dromeda replied back a bit chillily, clearly resistant to her sister's charms.

"Good. Now Rose, is it?" Narcissa asked, turning to Rose.

"Yes mam," Rose answered with a curtsy. She too was wearing her uniform from class, just a thin sheer pink skirt added over the leotard, although her thick curly red hair was flowing free and not in the mandatory bun the class required. Unlike Hermione, her hair tended naturally towards smooth curls and not frizz.

"Welcome to Malfoy Manor. Cepheus and the rest of us are delighted you could make it. He and his friends are over there." Here Narcissa pointed to the group of leotard and tutu wearing girls twirling around on the dance floor. I couldn't spot Cepheus in the group, but maybe that was just because none of them were wearing the same outfits they wore to the dance class. Yes, they were all in leotards, but different ones decorated with large poufy skirts of tulle and only a few had buns in their hair. Rose looked underdressed in comparison.

"Mummy, may I go?" Rose asked, looking up at Hermione.

"Of course Rosie," Hermione answered, taking Rose's shoulder bag, and allowing the child to run off.

"Feel free to help yourself to refreshments, or take a break from this ruckus in the sitting room through that door, or the garden out the large rear doors. This tends to be a relatively well behaved group. Last week with Aquila's Quidditch team and Cepheus and Equuleus' friends from their Art classes, now that was another story entirely," Narcissa said with amusement in her voice.

"Harry, would you mind holding Hugo for a while?" Hermione asked, the music having just switched to a classical tune that was clearly meant to cater to the Ballerinas in the mix. "I'd like to see Rose dance with her friends?"

"Sure thing," I agreed, taking the baby into my arms. Hugo was a cute, chubby little thing with straight red hair that fell into his brilliant brown eyes. He was old enough to sit up and squirmed around a lot, but he didn't crawl or walk yet, so for the most part he was happy to settle onto my hip and watch his surroundings with those large baby eyes of his, his little hands clinging to my jumper.

Hermione added first Hugo's nappy bag to my shoulder and then Rose's bag, before heading over to the side of the ballroom nearest Rose.

Meanwhile Dromeda was speaking to her sister. "Your granddaughter is on a Quidditch team then? Teddy was asking to join, but I thought he was too young."

"The teams are separated by age, with the youngest league composed of six and seven year-olds. It's not real Quidditch Aquila plays, just the Snitch and the Quaffle. Bludgers, beaters, and bats do not enter the equation until the upper levels. Aquila has been begging to join for ages and this is the first year she is old enough; Cepheus will no doubt be signed up the moment he turns six too," Narcissa replied.

"So Teddy _is_ old enough," I concluded, since Teddy was two years older than Aquila. Maybe I would ask Draco for more information on this children's Quidditch league.

"Draco does seem to keep the children busy with activities," Dromeda said, as another large group of party goers flooed into the room.

"If you will kindly excuse me, I must greet the other guests." Narcissa took a step to walk off, but then paused as if remembering something, before adding one last tidbit, "The loos are over in that direction." She pointed the same way as she had for the sitting room. The door probably led to a hallway with both sitting room and lavatories branching off of it.

Dromeda nodded and replied, "Of course."

Narcissa moved on, Dromeda headed over to take up a seat with a view of Teddy. I followed after, making sure that she got settled alright and didn't need anything. I left both of the bags Hermione has saddled me with next to Dromeda's chair and decided to take Hugo to meet the various other babies out on the dance floor. Hugo had to be the youngest baby there, but he happily waved at the other babies and said, "Hi," constantly; one of his few intelligible words. The song soon changed to one of the latest pop hits and I began to sway with Hugo to the rhythm. Hugo waved one hand up and down, dancing.

Draco came up behind me then, Equuleus on his hip with her head resting wearily on his shoulder. He was dressed in flowing linen robes that looked crisp and fashionable. The baby was wearing a fancy satin bright yellow dress, matching yellow bows at the ends of the two French braids in her hair. This hair style worked well with the curly hair in addition to bringing forward several shades of darker blond hair that seemed to lie under the pale blond layer on top, emphasizing the fact that this Malfoy didn't have the same shade of blond as her father and older siblings.

"You look good like that Potter," he said.

I turned to face him, still swaying with Hugo. "Like what?" I asked.

"With a baby Weasley in your arms."

"So do you. A baby that is, not a Weasley."

"Thank you. I do think she makes quite the fashion accessory, as does yours," he replied.

"Of course, why else would someone bother with reproduction if not for fashion?" I asked sarcastically. I couldn't give a rat's fart how I looked holding a baby—it was about how good it felt to do so—although I did have to admit that Draco looked good with one on his hip.

"Maybe it's the hypnotizing eyes," Draco suggested.

"Yes, there is that too," I said, looking at Equuleus' large blue eyes flutter open and closed, her thumb drifting into her mouth. "Yours looks all tuckered out."

"She's been running around all morning. It's almost naptime."

I nodded, wondering how much longer I had with Hugo before my newest godson succumbed to the same affliction.

"She got into the paint after Aquila's Quidditch match. We had to chase her all around the Manor, before Cepheus finally caught her. Paint _everywhere_. The elves spent the last two hours frantically cleaning and Cepheus' new tutu is still in the wash. Thank goodness we found him something else to where last minute," Draco continued.

"Sounds rough."

"Yes, but worth it. I wouldn't trade her for the world. I'm surprised you do not have one of your own by now," Draco replied, eyeing Hugo. "A Weasley baby, that is."

"Well the whole being gay thing sort of ended things with Ginny and all of Ron's brothers are unfortunately straight," I replied. With that many of them, you'd think at least one would be gay, but no.

Draco shrugged and said, "Then find another woman," somehow ignoring the gay bit.

"Speaking of significant others, where is your wife, Malfoy?" I asked pointedly, taking the focus off of myself and planting it firmly on his shoulders.

Draco looked around, taking stock of who was within hearing range: quite a few mothers with toddlers. He used his free arm to pull his wand out of his sleeve, cast a Notice-Me-Not charm and then a Muffliato to boot. Only once he was certain the conversation was private, did he look back at me. "At her home in Switzerland. Sundays are her days with the children," he answered straightly, as if this was status quo in the Malfoy family and maybe it was. A second home in Switzerland at least explained how his wife managed to hold down a job in Switzerland.

"Oh, I'm sorry, are you and your wife separated?" I asked concerned, assuming this was the reason behind the privacy charms.

"Oh no, nothing like that. Camella and I have the perfect relationship, in my opinion. She has her work to keep her busy, saving lives and such, so she doesn't have time to be the full-time parent. I do and I love it. I have them Monday through Saturday and she has them Sundays," he answered. I knew he worked, having replaced Lucius in handling whatever business the Malfoys were in and keeping the Malfoy fortune intact, but I didn't know how time intensive that was. It was possible that he only worked part-time and had most of his days free to be with his three children.

"So you _don't_ live together?" I asked, wanting to know the gossip, my Malfoy obsession showing through, despite my best efforts to hold it in check.

"No, and we never have. She has her romantic partners and I have mine. We're very good friends and work really well together as co-parents. That happens to be what both of us want out of this marriage, so it works wonderfully."

"So you only sleep with your wife when it's time to make those babies of yours?" I asked.

"Ew, no, not even then. Have you seen my wife Potter?" Draco's brows furrowed and his eyes narrowed. "She's only a few years younger than my mother," he added, clearly disgusted at the thought of sex with his own wife.

"Why are you married to a witch as old as your mum?" I asked surprised. I knew he'd married older, but not _that_ older. I'd only seen a few photos of her on his arm in the Prophet. I'd taken note that she was pretty, classy, and had beautiful curly blond hair and blue eyes. In one photo she held herself straight with dignity, wearing the white lab robes of the specialist healers. In another she'd been done up in an extravagant wedding dress. In the remainder, it was business robes and holding the newest Malfoy offspring for the world to see. She always looked like a Malfoy wife ought to look, which made me jealous. I wasn't comfortable with my irrational jealousy, so I always turned the page quickly and never bothered to notice any additional details of her appearance, like her age.

"Because we both wanted children and didn't want to wait a moment longer. Camella spent her youth focusing on her career and didn't have much fertile time left. After yet another long term relationship fell through, she was tired of trying to find love and have children the old fashioned way. I had just lost my father and was not willing to wait either," Draco answered.

Lucius' suicide half a year after the end of the war came as a total shock to many people, including me. We all thought he'd take the plea deal the Ministry was offering, pay the ginormous fine for his crimes, and continue living his life. Recovering and bouncing back from the loss seemed inevitable. According to Lucius' suicide note, which as an Auror I had access to, he disagreed. He stated that he was unwilling to return to Azkaban for the rest of his life, nor would he allow for one more sickle of the Malfoy fortune to be squandered on him and his mistakes. He was not going to be the Malfoy who lost the Malfoy fortune. He didn't even want a fancy funeral, instead requesting a small low-key ceremony at the Manor. He signed over his worldly possessions to Draco prior to his final act and since he died before he was tried or convicted, Draco was allowed to keep the money. In the interviews in the official case file, neither Draco nor Narcissa seemed to care about the money. They were both devastated and wished only that it wasn't too late and that they could somehow trade all of their worldly possessions for his return.

It wasn't entirely clear what Lucius' death had to do with rushing into a loveless marriage in an effort to have children, but I didn't press the issue. Draco and I may be having a civil conversation, but we hadn't had many of those in the years we'd known each other. We were no longer rivals, but we weren't friends either, merely acquaintances. Thus I didn't feel I had the right to ask a question about such a personal issue as Lucius' suicide.

"And what if you meet the _one_? What if a witch comes along who you actually love?" I asked instead.

"Impossible, Potter," Draco replied dismissively. There was a pause and then he eyed me inquisitively. "You don't know, do you?"

"Know what?" I asked, my own brows furrowed as I tried to figure out what he was getting at.

"Off the record?"

"What record? This is a children's party and you've already cast two privacy spells."

"I don't want it to be public knowledge. I keep my private life just that, private," he said seriously.

"Alright, I can relate to that." Ever since the Twiwizard Tournament I'd had my battle with keeping the press out. I'd discovered long ago that the only way to keep certain things out of the papers was to keep them close to home. I could keep my mouth shut when it came to gossip.

"Just the same, I'd like to Tongue-Tie you on this one."

Given that he was about to tell me what I assumed was a personal fact, I replied, "As long as it isn't about something illegal."

"It's not."

I nodded and he cast the spell. Still, he leaned in and whispered as he spoke, clearly not used to saying this out loud, "Your gaydar is broken." Then he pulled back, released all of the spells and resumed his normal tone. "Now if you will kindly excuse me, I believe my littlest princess is drooling down my back." At the last he tried to look at his daughter's now sleeping face without jostling her.

 _My gaydar is broken?_ I repeated silently to myself. _What does that mean?_ It took a moment before I figured it out, reality blindsiding me on the side of the head with the shock of it all.

I was so surprised by the revelation that Draco slipped away with Equuleus before I even managed to process what he'd said. He was gay. Draco Malfoy was a _homosexual_ , a queer, cock-loving, fairy. That meant we played for the same team and most importantly, he was therefore available to me. It didn't matter that he was married, because he'd just admitted that the entire marriage was a business arrangement for the purpose of having children. There were only so many ways for someone of our persuasion to acquire children and he'd chosen the marriage route. A fake marriage never appealed to me, but it was the more traditional way to go and the Malfoys did tend to favor tradition.

I, on the other hand, considered adoption on the top of my list. To me it wasn't so much about passing my genes along, but having someone to love. I wanted a child to teach, to protect, and to watch grow. There were plenty of war orphans in the world, like Teddy, and if I hadn't been so busy rounding up stray Death-Eaters and then helping Dromeda adjust to life post-stroke, I would've adopted a group of them and been done with it. There were still children out there in need of adoption. I kept telling myself that when the time was right, I'd do it: take the plunge and adopt another. For now though, I had Teddy and my godchildren, Rose and Hugo, along with a slew of Weasley nephews and nieces.

Eventually I realized that I was standing in the middle of the dancefloor holding Hugo and not dancing. I made my way over to an empty chair by Dromeda and sat down right as the music shifted to a rap song of all things. The loud thumping bass seemed to be a cue to the majority of the people on the dance floor to either get out of the way or take up position in three evenly spaced lines.

I saw Teddy and Rose falling back, unsure what to do, but Aquila called to Teddy and motioned him over to stand behind her, saying, "Follow me, it's okay if you don't know it yet."

Just as I'd predicted, Teddy's appearance was back to his usual blue hair and Potter nose, although he still had his natural chin and heart-shaped face.

Teddy looked to Rose uncertainly, but there was a pointy-faced blond child tugging Rose and another of the Ballerina girls into position on the other side of the line-up. At first I'd taken the blond child for a girl, due to the fact that the straight silky hair was all the way down his back. I should have picked up on the unusual shade of blond though, indicative of a Malfoy. He wore a teal leotard covered in metallic blue pirate skulls, aqua tights, Ballet slippers, and a multi-layered lacey A-line skirt in about four shades of blue. The ensemble was topped off with blue lipstick. No wonder I hadn't spotted the Malfoy boy in the mix of girls: I'd mistaken him _for_ a girl.

A few of the other apparent regulars were also tugging newcomers into position and scrambled to get themselves in place as the song kicked into gear. They dived into a complex choreographed Hip-Hop routine that was adorable due to the fact that it was performed by a bunch of children all under the age of ten. In general the side dressed in baggy shorts seemed to have the moves down, but there were a handful of children in the back row, including Teddy, who were struggling to follow along. On the other side, the Ballerinas as a whole were less smooth with the routine, with only Cepheus and a few others keeping up with the Hip-Hop side. Half a dozen of the Ballerinas were sort of keeping up, but Rose and the other two newest members of the Ballet class were utterly lost and mostly just stood there watching. On the sidelines with the parents, half a dozen toddlers were bouncing to the beat and shaking their little bums. Hugo flapped his arms appreciatively.

When the song ended, Draco called out, "One more time, for those of you who didn't catch it the first time around!" He was standing by the audio system and with a wave of his wand, he restarted the song from the beginning.

The children repeated the routine, this time a bit more smoothly, especially on the Ballerina side. When it ended, the music stopped completely, no song ready to go in the cue. As Draco fiddled with the sound system, the children went running for water, but quickly went back out onto the dance floor, Cepheus, Aquila, and a few others encouraging the children to get into position for something else. When the music started back up, it was a more whimsical number, with the Ballerinas leading the pack in another choreographed routine. It was all the stiff and graceful movements of Ballet, complete with twirling around with their arms above their heads. This time the Hip-Hop side struggled more, with only a few of the baggy shorts wearing children having it down. The toddlers on the sidelines mostly twirled until they grew dizzy and fell on their butts.

Like before, the Ballerinas' song played twice, before a water break in which Draco announced that lunch would be served shortly out in the garden. This was the cue for the parents of the Ballerinas, including Hermione, to shepherd their children into the lavatory to change into outdoor clothes.

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Author's Note: Right now I have this story rated mature, because I have 2 sex scenes between Harry and Draco planned. But, neither is necessary to the story and given that this story is mostly about the kids, I'm debating whether I should keep them in. I might leave them out here on fanfiction and change the rating to PG13, so that more people can read it. Of course if I did that, I'd still post the smut over on AO3. How do you all feel about that?

This chapter was getting really long and still not complete, so I decided to cut it in two. What do you all think of Draco's big revelation? Up next will be the second half of the party! There are still only a dozen or so people reading this, so your continued feedback is critical. Please Review!


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: I would like to thank Ern Estine 13624 and DRARRYLOVR4EVERINMYHEART for the reviews! You are awesome!

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During the water break, Draco announced that lunch would be served shortly out in the garden. This was the cue for the parents of the Ballerinas to shepherd their children into the lavatory to change into outdoor clothes.

When Hermione and Rose returned, Rose now wearing shorts and a t-shirt, Hermione said, "I'm going to run Hugo home to Ron. Can you watch Rose?"

I agreed and we exchanged children. I saw Hermione head off in the direction of the fireplace, before being lost in the crowd.

"Come on Rose, let's go find Teddy," I said, taking Rose's hand, before turning back to Dromeda. "Are you going to be alright here or do you want to join us in the garden?"

"It's too sunny today. Actually, I think I will venture into that sitting room. I saw several other people my age headed that way," Dromeda replied, reaching for her cane.

I let go of Rose's hand in order to go to Dromeda, one arm around her back and lifting from under her armpit as I helped ease her to her feet. She could get down alright, it was the getting back up she struggled with.

"Andromeda," Narcissa called, coming up to her sister's side. "A group of us usually take tea in the sitting room. It gives us a break from all of the noise." She seemed to be assessing her older sister, possibly wondering if she should move to help support Dromeda too, or if me and the cane were enough. Then she noticed Dromeda's purse left on the ground and bent to pick it up.

Once steady on her feet, I let Dromeda go and Narcissa slid the purse over Dromeda's head. Dromeda adjusted the purse, nodded, and made a step in the direction of the sitting room. Narcissa stepped along with her and I let them go, retaking Rose's hand and heading for the garden. Most of the other children were already out there, waiting in line at a buffet table or running around rambunctiously. I got into line for food with Rose, and Teddy came running over.

"This is sooo much fun Harry!" Teddy proclaimed.

"I'm glad you're having a good time," I said, but Teddy was already distracted again, talking to another boy in the line ahead of us.

"What about you Rose, are you having a good time?" I asked, bending down a bit to hear my god-daughter over the noise.

"Why can't I wear my pretty clothes?" Rose asked in a whine, by way of answering.

"Because we're outside now and we don't want them to get ruined," I answered.

"But Cepheus is wearing a pretty dress!" Rose said, pointing to where Cepheus was indeed wearing a short sundress, which flapped in the breeze as he spun around, enjoying the bright sun. It usually wasn't noticeable that he was a boy in girl's clothing, but as he spun his skirt lifted up, revealing a pair of flowery Y-fronts. Where Draco had gotten Y-fronts covered in pink, yellow, and purple flowers, I had no idea. Knowing the Malfoys, Draco had probably custom ordered them.

"Mummy said I had to wear this and it's not fair!" Rose continued.

"Well you're better off wearing shorts, trust me. You are going to be running around and you wouldn't want your panties showing, would you?" I asked.

"Hmmp," Rose replied, crossing her arms.

The foul mood, however, was forgotten when we reached the food and saw the spread the Malfoy elves had put out for the event.

Teddy, Rose, and I soon found ourselves seated at a long table filled mostly with the Ballet kids, including Cepheus. I'd tried to excuse myself to sit with the adults, but Rose had started to cry at the thought of being left alone. So Teddy and I had both agreed to sit with her at the Ballet table, making me the only adult and him the only Hip-Hop kid in the bunch. The children chatted away as they ate, mostly saying how cool this was.

"You're so lucky you get to have a party like this every month," Teddy said to Cepheus.

"Every month? No, it's just the dance children once a month. We do this _every_ Saturday. Next week it'll be our theater group," Cepheus replied.

"Theater? Like in plays?" Rose asked.

"Yes, we're doing Romeo and Juliet this year. I auditioned for Juliet yesterday, but stupid Director Morgan said he wouldn't give me the part. He said I should come back next week prepared for Romeo. Why would I want to be Romeo? I'm much more of a Juliet, don't you think?"

Rose and the other Ballet girls agreed, although Teddy looked confused and said nothing.

"Romeo is a big part. It's the best part after Juliet," I put in.

"But he has to kiss a _girl_! That's gross," Cepheus said with his arms crossed. Either he didn't realize that Juliet had to kiss a boy, or he didn't mind the idea of kissing a boy the way he did a girl.

A chorus of agreement echoed around the table as pretty much all of the children agreed that kissing was gross.

"And he doesn't even get to wear a pretty dress," Cepheus added, straightening his short sundress in his seat. "Juliet wears the prettiest gown. Last year I got to wear a pretty dress, but I wasn't old enough for a lead part. This year Director Morgan said I'm good enough to play lead and it's supposed to be an honor or something. But how is it an honor when the lead part wears an ugly costume?"

The little girls at the table murmured their agreement, while Teddy looked like he felt out of place at this table.

"Will your sisters be in the play too?" I asked curiously.

"Quila will, Quuleus goes to Puppet Story Time instead. Quila might get Juliet, but she doesn't want it. Can you believe that? She wants the part with the swordfight. Girls," Cepheus said with a harrumph.

Loud dissention swept the table as the girls insisted that they didn't want to swordfight and that it was only Aquila who would want that.

"No, no, no! It's not the swordfighting that's stupid! It's the ugly costume of the _swordfighters_!" Cepheus corrected, a hint of exasperation in his voice. "Fencing is cool. Quila and I have swordfights all the time, but you can't fight in a pretty dress."

"I want to swordfight!" Teddy exclaimed, looking at me excitedly.

Here I was thinking I was doing a pretty good job being a dad, but apparently I was failing in comparison to Draco. "Are you all taking fencing lessons too?" I asked Cepheus, wondering if this was yet another thing I should be signing Teddy up for.

"No, just Gymnastics, Painting, Ballet, Theater, and the YPGB," Cepheus answered. YPGB stood for Young Purebloods of Great Britain and was an organization for Pureblood children to get together and earn merit badges doing various traditional wizarding activities. "Sometimes we go fencing with the YPGB."

"Perhaps Teddy and Rose could join the group and go fencing with us sometime," Draco said, approaching the table with a pitcher of water to refill glasses. It was somethings the elves had been doing inside the house, but they seemed to be busy setting up trays of desserts, so he was doing it.

"Ah, Pureblood, Malfoy. Doesn't the P in YPGB stand for Pureblood?" I asked annoyed.

"Not anymore. Now the P stands for People; Young People of Great Britain. The organization opened up to all magical children a few years ago. We are trying to recruit a more diverse membership as part of the new order you were so kind to begin for us," Draco answered, continuing to refill glasses.

I raised my hands in protest. "Hey, I didn't begin it. All I did was end the war." I did not want a single extra iota of credit thrown my way. I had enough of it as it was, besides, "I hate politics."

"Then Rose's mother started. Equal rights for all and wages for house elves. We toe the line here at Malfoy Manor and that includes our Friday YPGB meetings," Draco said.

"You pay your house elves?" I asked surprised.

"Of course. I even give them fifteen minute breaks, which is why you see me here with the water," Draco replied, raising the pitcher slightly to emphasize his point, before moving on down the line to the next child.

"I thought it was because your elves are busy over there?" I asked, pointing to the elves preparing the desserts.

"Different elves," Draco answered with a shrug, and topping off the last glass of water. "Let me know if your children are interested in joining. I'm troop leader and we are always looking for ways to diversify and modernize, which is something I'm sure you or Rose's mother could help with. We have to reinvent ourselves or die out, you know." And with that, he nodded to me and took his pitcher to the next long table.

Just as Draco left, the elves approached our table, each with a platter of sweets. The children, naturally, went crazy with excitement as they picked out more than they should.

The desserts were delicious. Afterwards the children stayed outside and ran around, working off the excess energy from all of the sugar. Hermione came back and reclaimed responsibility for watching Rose. That was good for me, because my god-daughter was not used to being allowed so many sweets and was thus on a sugar high. I was more than happy to leave Hermione to deal with the situation I'd created while I focused on Teddy.

Having grown up with me, Teddy was immune to sugar highs and even tended to put his own limits on dessert consumption. He was the only child I knew who would refuse a third helping of dessert on the grounds that it usually led to a tummy ache. He also complained when I served ice cream for dinner after serving treacle tart for an appetizer and was always telling me he wanted more than biscuits and digestives for lunch. Kreacher was thus an indispensable part of our household.

At one point Aquila, Teddy, and another boy from the Hip-Hop class sat down on a bench to rest and have some water. It was then that I heard her mention her mother. Up until this point, Draco was the only one who'd mentioned the witch, the Malfoy children not seeming to notice her absence.

"I'm getting my hair cut tomorrow. Mummy's taking me," Aquila said, giving her head full of platinum blond braids a shake for emphasis.

"Your hair is already short for a girl," Teddy replied.

I was thinking that is was already shorter than her brother's, over a foot shorter, but I said nothing, staying out of the conversation.

"No, it's too long. It bothers me and Father is always braiding it to keep it out of my face. Do you know what it's like to have all these braids put in?" she asked the boys, who both shook their heads. "Well it hurts and it takes forever."

"Is ya dad bad at doin' hair? Does ya mum do it better?" the other boy asked.

"No, my mummy doesn't do hair! That's Father's job. Mummy is taking me to have someone _else_ cut it. My mummy is a healer. She saves people who are dying. She's getting an award for saving people tomorrow, so we have to dress up and go to a big bankit. Even Father is going. That's why I'm getting my hair done."

"Are your brother and sister getting their hair cut too?" Teddy asked.

"They'll get theirs trimmed, but Pheus won't let his be cut. His hair is straight. It doesn't cause problems like mine, so he can have it long. He got the good hair; me and Quuleus got the curly hair from Mummy." She started swinging her legs back and forth as she sat on the bench.

That was an interesting take on the situation. I had assumed Cepheus' long hair went with his crossdressing, but maybe it didn't. On the other hand, Draco might've armed his children with non-gay excuses for his son's eccentricities. Since Cepheus was too young to label as gay, I thought this was a good idea and silently applauded Draco's parenting.

Then I inwardly cringed as I heard Teddy ask, "Is your brother, er…normal?" He was a good kid and I'd done my best to raise him to be open minded, but this was his first time meeting a little boy like Cepheus. I guess I probably should've had a talk with him about it, but it hadn't crossed my mind to do so until just now. I could only hope that he wasn't about to say something he'd regret and that I wouldn't have to step in and embarrass him in front of his new friend.

"Yes. Why?" Aquila asked.

"Well, it's just, um…he's wearing a dress," Teddy said, shrugging.

"So?" Aquila asked.

"He's onny four," the other boy sitting with them put in, shrugging. Up until then he'd let Aquila do most of the talking, but she didn't seem to realize what Teddy was getting at and this other boy did. "My mummy say it's fine, 'cause he's pra'ly a baby."

"He's not that bad. He's almost five," Aquila said, sticking up for her little brother, although she still didn't get what Teddy was on about.

"Yeah, but is it like having a little sister?" Teddy asked.

"No. Quuleus is what a little sister is like. Pheus is just a brother," Aquila answered, Teddy's implications going over her head.

"Pheus play cars an' trucks wi' me sometimes. He wear dresses, but he play like a boy," the boy added.

"So he is a normal boy, then?" Teddy asked again.

"Normal and boring!" Aquila exclaimed. "They go on and _on_ about how pretty the cars are, like I care. I couldn't give a _flying peacock_ about your cars, Henley. I do hope you don't like cars Teddy." I smiled at her childlike cussword; given the peacocks that could be seen roaming the grounds, it was an appropriate swear for a Malfoy to use.

"Erm, I do."

"Typical. Boys," Aquila said, sounding exasperated at the mere mention of cars.

The other boy, who I now suspected was named Henley, went on to rave about his toy cars with Teddy. The theme seemed to be the bigger, the faster, and the shinier, the better.

Feelings of pride welled up in me as I realized that the topic of Cepheus' fashion sense had been forgotten without incident. Sure Teddy had asked the rude question, but then he'd accepted Aquila's answer on his own, without me having to tell him to. He'd made the right decision and that was always a good feeling for a parent.

Aquila crossed her arms and waited out the boring car talk for a few minutes, but the moment there was a lull in the conversation, she interjected, "What about your father, Teddy? Is he normal?"

"Yeah, what do ya mean?" Teddy asked.

"What's it like living with _the_ Harry Potter?" Aquila clarified.

"Boring, mostly, but sometimes he takes me to Quidditch games," Teddy answered with a shrug.

"My father takes us to a Quidditch game every year too," Aquila boasted.

"My uncle took me last year," Henley put in.

"No, Harry takes me all the time. Aunt Ginny gets us free passes. When it's Quidditch season, we'll go to most of her games," Teddy clarified.

Henley and Aquila both agreed that was pretty awesome.

"Do you get to do other cool stuff with him?" Henley asked.

"No, just Quidditch. Like I said, he's boring," Teddy replied.

"What do you guys do on the other nights, when you're not at Dance class?" Aquila asked.

"Nothing. He works," Teddy answered.

"My father works too, but we still go somewhere every night," Aquila said.

"Sometimes he takes me flying. We like Quidditch and flying a lot," Teddy added.

"Everyone likes Quidditch and flying," Aquila replied.

"Yeah," Henley seconded.

"What about those Ministry Galas?" Aquila asked Teddy. "You know, when he's in the papers."

"Those? Those are _sooooooooooo_ _boring_!" Teddy exclaimed, rolling his eyes. "They are like _the most boring_ thing _ever_! We hate them. We both almost died of boredom at the last one. He promised me we won't have to go to ano'er one until next year."

A hatred of official Ministry functions was something Teddy and I had in common. Sometimes I considered having mercy on him and leaving him at home. But then I _needed_ him as my escape, as in, "Sorry Minister Shacklebolt, I can only stay half an hour, because my godson will die of boredom if we stay a moment longer." Children were certainly good for that.

"My parents never get invited. We only go to the hospital parties and those are fun. We get to play healer and stuff and make giant ice creams with all the toppings we want," Aquila said. I had a feeling that she'd inherited Draco's sweet tooth.

"The Ministry has dessert too, but not all the treacle tart in the world can make me want to go," Teddy said.

"I'd go for ice cream and treacle tart!" Henley exclaimed. I had the feeling that his parents had never dragged him to a grownup party.

"Not me. I'd rather play. Are we gonna sit 'round all day or what?" Teddy asked.

"Race you to the broom shed; we can toss my Quaffle around!" Aquila exclaimed, jumping up and running across the grass.

Teddy and Henley followed excitedly.

By the time Draco called an end to the party, Teddy was filthy and exhausted and Dromeda had long since ditched us in favor of going home.

* * *

Author's Note: Perhaps I should mention that Draco's wife is not the ex mentioned in the summary. They are still quite happy with their marriage arrangement and not exes. The problem ex is Draco's formerly live-in ex-boyfriend, but I won't get into that for another chapter or two.

Please Review! Your feedback is greatly appreciated.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: I would like to thank Ern Estine 13624, JDTEA, DRARRYLOVR4EVERINMYHEART, Isabella Ann Malfoy, and marybeth for the wonderful feedback. You are awesome!

* * *

The following week at Dance class, I decided to follow Draco out, instead of staying there to watch Rose dance. Draco stopped at the front desk to exchange a few short pleasantries with the receptionist, before heading through the lobby and out the front door. There was a small garden area with benches and a fountain outside and that was where he settled with Equuleus, pulling out baby toys from a nappy bag.

It wasn't until Equuleus was settled that he turned to me and asked, "Why are you following us, Potter?"

"I wanted to talk to you," I answered.

"About the YPGB, I hope."

"Maybe, among other things. We were also thinking of signing Teddy up for Quidditch, but that is probably too much. Hip-Hop, Quidditch, _and_ the YPGB?"

"I wouldn't know. I've always had all of mine in one activity per day."

"Wow that's a lot!" I exclaimed, flummoxed as to how he managed that schedule. I couldn't imagine doing so much with Teddy and he was only one child; Draco had three.

"It's not so much. Aquila had to give up Art for Quidditch, but, um… I guess it depends on how much extracurricular activity and peer interaction they have in school. Mine are homeschooled."

Draco either thought my comment was referring to the children or chose to interpret it that way. It was possible that he didn't want to discuss his own life with me and preferred to restrict the conversation to the children. Maybe he thought he'd told me too much already. The whole purpose of my coming out here was to discuss him, but I didn't want to just jump into it and scare him off. Discussing the kids was as good an ice breaker as any, so I went with it.

"Not much of either, I'd wager," I said.

"More than you would think; my friends and I pool the effort and hire a private teacher. She covers Latin and Astrology, but that is it other than the basics," Draco explained.

"Teddy goes to Birch Grove," I replied with a shrug, not knowing what else to say. Obviously we came from radically different cultures if he was talking private teachers, not private school. But then the Purebloods had always kept education in the home. Personally I thought that was part of the problem with the Wizarding World: the children were too closed off and isolated, so it was easy for extremist parents to indoctrinate hate.

Birch Grove was a private school, in the sense that the parents had to pay and it was restricted to children from our world, but it was also the right type of school, where children and ideas were free to mix. Molly Weasley was a teacher there, now that all of her children were grown. All of the Weasley children went there these days, because of their pro-Muggle teachings and the school's association with the Order of the Phoenix, the Principal having been a member and the majority of teachers part of the resistance.

"It's a good school; I considered it, but ultimately they didn't offer everything I was looking for. Their standardized testing scores are just so far behind those of the children with private tutors. I know it's an exchange: less individualized attention results in lower scores, but the interaction with other students builds social skills and results in well-rounded children. So I thought about it, I really did, but I couldn't do it. Call me old-fashioned, but I cannot seem to let go of tradition. These classes and the Saturday parties make up for it." Draco shrugged, sounding slightly defensive. He was probably aware of my stance on education.

I nodded, having suspected this about him. "Fair enough. Speaking of tradition, is that why you're in the closet?" I asked, finally getting at the real reason I'd followed him out here.

Draco looked up then, glancing all around to see who might overhear. No one else was present, which was why the Tongue-Tie curse hadn't kicked in. Still, he cast his usual privacy charms. "In case someone walks by," he explained. He paused to collect his thoughts, before continuing. "My sexuality is probably the worst kept secret in the Magical World. It is definitely the worst kept of the Malfoy family secrets. Everyone, including the children, knows, so it's not like I'm really in the closet. I just don't want it in the papers. I need a modicum of deniability, you know?"

"No, I don't," I answered. My sex life was all over the Prophet and every other magical newspaper on this side of the globe. "With the way you are about letting your son dress the way he does, I figured you would be out and proud with the rest of us. I would think that with Cepheus likely being one of us, you would want to come forward and help lead the way. Times are changing. The Pureblood prejudices against us are falling away. I don't understand how you can be okay with your son wearing a dress and taking Ballet, but are afraid to come out yourself."

"I do _not_ consider keeping my sexuality out of the papers synonymous with being in the closet. Just because I do not want to be the subject of gossip, does not make me ashamed of who I am."

"But think of your son! Think of how he's going to feel about himself when he realizes that you're the same way, but you keep it private. It's not something that needs to be hid anymore. Shout it from the rooftops!"

"I _am_ thinking of my son! I have my reasons," he replied angrily. He stopped, taking several deep breaths to calm down, before shaking his head. When he spoke again, he did so not making eye contact with me, his focus on watching Equuleus pull petals off of a flower in the garden. "I know you would have me abandon the old ways and traditions I was brought up with, but I cannot. They are a part of me and the Purebloods are as much my people as the gays are. I will not abandon either of them.

"I made a lot of mistakes during the war," he continued. "Yes, my father made more and he couldn't live with the results, but I do not have that option and I still made plenty mistakes of my own. I cannot take the easy way out. I have the children to think of. My father…" He paused, taking a gulp of air and closing his eyes as he entered what was clearly emotional territory for him. "My father was all about not letting anymore of the family money be wasted on his mistakes. It was never about the money for me, but I understand it. For me, it's that I will not let my actions do one more iota of harm to my people. First and foremost I will do my best to transform Pureblood society into one that my children can my proud of; one that they can be happy living in; one where they can be themselves and not have to hide _anything_. And I cannot do that from the outside as easily as I can from the inside."

"The inside?" I asked, wondering what exactly he was up to. This was sounding more like some sort of cult, reminiscent of the Death Eaters, than the scattered remains of a society broken by war.

"I've taken my father's place on the Council of Elders. Well, Mother and I have. We share the position. She's too female and I'm too young—I'm three decades younger than the second youngest member—but my ancestors included a clause in the bylaws that there always has to be a chair for a Malfoy of the main line. We are the only Malfoys left, so they cannot kick us out, unless we violate the cultural standards of our society. Homosexuality may no longer be against any laws, but it still violates the old standards. The crux of the matter is that I have to maintain my position on the Council in order to change the very standards that could result in my being thrown out. And I need to do it before Cepheus reaches puberty, or risk my son being ostracized by our community; I will not have him hiding the way I have had to. If I had a hundred years to work my way up to Chief Elder, then it would be easy to make such a change, but I don't have the time. I have to do it all as the youngest elder to ever sit the Council."

The Council of Elders was an ancient Pureblood organization with no real political power, but their opinions did hold a lot of weight in the Pureblood community and in the court of public opinion. Thousands of years ago, before the first Ministry for Magic was established, wizards gathered into small communities that were ran by councils of elders. When those communities began to interact and organize into larger societies, they did so by forming a higher order of power, one elder from each community receiving a seat on the first Grand Council of Elders. This was the organization Draco was referring to. It was also an organization that was long ago replaced by the Ministry of Magic and the Wizenagamot.

It hadn't occurred to me that these days the Council of Elders was anything more than a bunch of old wizards sitting around and griping about how their side lost the war. I long ago wrote it off as a relic of the obsolete past. I let their edicts go in one ear and out the other, not even bothering to register that anything had been said at all. These were the people who encouraged the Purebloods to support Voldemort. They were a large part of the reason our country had been torn by war over the Muggle-born issue time and time again. They were the ones who refused to adapt to changing times, stuck to the old ways, and made the rest of us pay for it. As far as I was concerned, the Elders could turn into dust and be forever forgotten, buried in the sands of time; our world would be better for it.

Apparently Draco did not share my position regarding the Council. The organization still meant something to him and he was trying to save it, by modernizing it. But was that even possible? My skepticism remained.

"And just what is their current stance on Muggles and Muggle-borns?" I asked pointedly. This was surely public knowledge, but like I mentioned before, I paid them no mind, so I didn't know. However, it was an important issue and if the Council was still behind the times on this, then as far as I was concerned, there was no saving it.

"I'm surprised you weren't dancing in the streets at the announcement seven years ago. Okay, I will admit it came a year too late, a whole year after the end of the war, but these wizards are old and these things take time," he rambled. I raised an eyebrow and made a motion with my hand, indicating that he should get to the point. He nodded. "The very first declaration that I was a part of upon my taking up the Malfoy seat was that Muggle-borns are entitled to equal rights and treatment to that of those born pure of blood. That was how I managed to change the meaning of the P in YPGB from Pureblood to People. It's slow going, but we are making progress. We even have a Muggle-born serving on the Council. He is a hundred three, so he has a lot of weight."

"And you really think you can save them?" I asked, unconvinced.

"I have to try. It was me and my family that helped doom them, so it is my responsibility to fix things. I know it doesn't mean anything to you, but it's part of a cultural legacy that I want to pass on to my children. I cannot let it die with me."

"And that is worth living a lie," I said with a sigh. It wasn't a question, it was a statement, because as far as I was concerned, a gay man married to a woman and going out of his way to make a bunch of old farts think him straight, was living a lie.

"If that is what you think I am doing, then yes," he answered and I raised an eyebrow. He sighed. "I have never lived with Camella or given anyone outside the Council the impression that our marriage is anything other than an arrangement. Merlin, even the Elders know that it was a matter of convenience with the aim of producing children to continue on our lines, not romance. They applaud me for it, because too many of our people were killed in the war…Magical people, I mean, on both sides of the war. We cannot let magic die out and the only way to prevent that is to increase our numbers through reproduction. After my father died, the only thing I could think of, was that I was the last Malfoy and I _couldn't_ , I just could _not_ let any of it die with me. So I did what I had to do to have children as soon as humanly possible. And ever since then, I have been doing everything I can to make our world a better place for them; to clean up my mess and my father's mess and my grandfather's mess and his father before him…so that my children do not have to. If you call that living a lie, then I don't care. I call it taking responsibility and living with what I have done the best way I know how."

Draco's impassioned speech had me backing down, regretting my earlier harsh stance. "Sorry. I, er, um, I shouldn't have judged you. Sorry," I said, wishing I could take some of it back. Not all of it mind you, but the accusation of living a lie for sure.

"It's fine." His tone was still sharp, indicating that all was not completely forgiven or forgotten. But then what did I expect? We weren't friends. We were too fellow gay wizards taking our children to the same Dance class.

"No, I'm sorry. We need to stick together, not fight amongst ourselves," I insisted.

"Let's just drop it." He waved a hand dismissively.

"Alright then, but I would like to be friends. I mean, for the sake of the children, at least, could we try? They really seem to like each other."

Draco nodded. "Fine, but could we change the subject, please?"

"Sure. Um…" I trailed off, trying to think of something else to discuss. "Cepheus was telling us that he's going to be in a play. Did he end up getting the part of Romeo?"

"Theater Club isn't until tomorrow. He tries out then." Draco let out a put upon sigh, before continuing, "I've been trying to convince him all week that Romeo isn't so bad. He really had his heart set on being the other one, because of some dress the director showed them, but there is no way that will happen, because most of the children in the club are girls. They really need Cepheus to play one of the boy roles, but convincing him to prepare for the audition has been like pulling teeth. I ended up taking him to buy an old fashioned-style gown to bribe him into learning the lines. The old, 'You can pick out whichever one you want, if you will do your work,' bribe my parents always used on me. We have to go over the lines again tonight and I'm dreading it."

"Sounds like you lot are trying to push him into being something he's not," I observed.

Draco sat up straighter, bristling over the implication. "I am not pushing him into anything! He wants to act. Taking the roles available is part of it."  
"But if he wants to be a girl, then surely there is a lesser female role he could try out for."

"My son does not want to be a girl, trust me, I know my children. He wants to wear clothing normally restricted to girls. There is a difference."

I shrugged, conceding the point. After all, I was gay and that didn't mean I wanted to be a witch. I had assumed with Cepheus' tastes in clothes that the child identified more as a girl, or at least gender fluid. But he was Draco's son, not mine, and Draco would know him far better than I did. I'd only known the kid for a few weeks, after all.

"It's like I told Cepheus, if he has a problem with the costume, then that is something he can have changed _after_ he gets the part. If he doesn't want to actually _kiss_ the girl, they can work around that. It's a children's play; the kiss was only a kiss on the cheek in the first place. I'm sure it can be written out of the script."

"You think a sparkly pair of trousers will change things?" I asked curiously.

"Why does Romeo need to wear trousers? Why can he not have a gown just as beautiful as the girl does? I think he could play the role wearing the new gown a bought him and make a dashing Romeo. This is Romeo and What's-Her-Name, not a play that anyone is going to recognize."

"Are you kidding me? Romeo and Juliet not recognized? That's like the most famous play there is," I replied in disbelief.

"You know it then?" he asked curiously and I nodded. "Well I'd never heard of it. It's by some unknown Muggle playwright, not at all the Pureblood classics they usually do."

"Seriously? Shakespeare, unknown? He's _the_ most famous playwright there is and Romeo and Juliet is considered the greatest love story ever told," I objected.

"He is?" Draco asked and I reaffirmed that he was. "Well maybe he is among Muggles. But that play cannot possibly be considered the greatest love story ever told. There is _no_ way."

"It is," I insisted.

"But they both _die_ at the end! Without leaving children? No, that is not a love story; that is a tragedy. A love story results in children that continue the family name another generation and preferably the lovebirds live to see it."

I shrugged. "Is that how it goes in Pureblood plays?"

"Yes and I refuse to believe that a double suicide can be considered a love story." As Draco spoke, an alarm sounded from the breast of his robes. He pulled out an antique gold jewel encrusted pocket watch, looked at the time, and concluded, "Time to go. The children will be out in a minute."

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Author's Note: So now you know what Draco's doing with his life. What do you think? Up next, Harry is going to need Draco's help getting Teddy into Quidditch, since it is already past the deadline.

Please Review!


	6. Chapter 6

Author's note: I am deeply indebted to Ern Estine 13624, DRARRYLOVR4EVERINMYHEART JDTEA for wonderful feedback. Thank you!

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Dromeda got the details regarding Quidditch for kids from her sister. Teddy really wanted to join, so I sent in an inquiry to determine if this was possible. Several days later, I received an owl back with the negative response. Since they were already six weeks into the quarter, it was too late. Teddy didn't take the news well and begged me to do something. I wasn't sure what there was to do, but I did know someone to ask. Thus I sent an owl.

 _Draco Malfoy,_

 _We heard back from the Children's Quidditch League with their decision that Teddy will not be allowed to join midseason. Apparently these are not the type of people I have sway with, however, they do appear to be your type. Is there anything you could do to help? Teddy really doesn't want to wait until next quarter._

 _-Harry Potter_

 _Harry Potter,_

 _There is nothing I can do unless Teddy is a member of YPGB. Would he by any chance like to join us this Friday at Malfoy Manor at 6pm? This week is just Gobstones I'm afraid. We will not be fencing for another three weeks. Feed him supper beforehand; only sliced fruit and water will be served at the meeting._

 _-Draco Malfoy_

At work the next day I handed Draco's presumptuous note over to Ron, saying "You owe me."

"What's this?" Ron took the scrap of parchment. He was silent as he read, then asked, "Nothing he can do about what?"

"Getting Teddy onto the Quidditch team," I answered, looking at him pointedly, so he'd know how serious this was. This was my son and my favorite sport we were talking about.

He turned red in the face and started spluttering. "I…no…uh-uh…he can't just…no…no, no way. Not gonna happen." He pushed the scrap of parchment back towards me, before forcing it into my hand. "Not my Rose. Not in the YPGB. We're blood traitors. She's a Half-blood. Sorry, can't do it."

"Teddy is a Half-blood too. Apparently they've opened up their membership," I retorted, dropping the parchment onto his desk.

"Since when?"

"I don't know, but Draco said Muggle-borns are permitted now. _Any_ magical child."

"No way, not any magical child. Not one still living with Muggle parents, pre-Hogwarts."

"If such a child knew about the organization and wanted in, then I'm pretty sure Draco would see them in."

"Since when?"

"Since his father's death."

"Oh…" Ron said, some of the wind let out of his sails at the thought.

"Yes," I agreed. Lucius Malfoy's suicide had changed things more than his life could've.

"Well you can't seriously…Rose isn't even old enough for Quidditch for another year."

"But she is old enough for the YPGB and You. Owe. Me."

"For the Ballet class? Malfoy really isn't that bad. He's hardly there at all. He just drops his kid off and goes outside. You don't have to keep coming."

"Uh-uh. Too late. Teddy's already enrolled. Rose likes Gobstones," I countered.

"This Friday? Can't do Fridays, sorry. Hermione works. It's my night to cook dinner."

"It's after dinner."

"But there's Hugo."

"Don't care. Bring him along, leave him with your mum, or let Hermione handle it. You opened up this can or worms. Teddy wouldn't even know what he's missing if you hadn't gotten him and Rose invited to that dance party. That invitation came because they were signed up for the same Dance classes as the Malfoy kids. _You_ were responsible for that. We're going, now are you going to let Hermione know or should I?" I asked.

"I'll do it, but if she has a problem with Rose joining…"

"She won't."

"She could," he countered. "It's the bloody Young Purebloods of Great Britain. We always said they should change their name to the Young Pricks of Great Britain."

"They already changed the P to People."

"People?" Ron asked surprised, but then shook it off. "Doesn't matter. Same organization, different name. Hermione might hate them and all they stand for."

"Not Hermione. Not after Malfoy's house elves refused to clean up some snotty-nosed dance kid's vomit because he was on his fifteen minute break. Not after Malfoy spelled it away himself. Hermione was gushing, _gushing_. Malfoy is on board with her new Wizarding Order."

"No!?" Ron proclaimed dismayed, as if Draco Malfoy agreeing with his wife was the most unbelievable thing that could possibly happen.

"Yes."

"I'm screwed, aren't I?"

"You may never get screwed again if you come out against this," I warned.

"Fine," he growled, picking the parchment up from his desk.

I left him there to stare at it and resign himself to his fate.

* * *

That week we saw Draco and the Malfoys on Wednesdays, and again on Friday at the YPGB meeting. This time the room we flooed into was a large drawing room with a marble floor, perfect for Gobstones. We were a few minutes late in arriving, thanks to Ron's melodramatics, so the room already contained two dozen children sitting cross-legged in one large circle in the middle of the floor.

Draco was in the middle of the circle saying, "…was a great success. I want to thank each and every one of you for giving back. The orphans sent thank you cards as well. Give yourselves a pat on the back while I hand these out."

The children reached their arms around and patted their own backs, giving excited cheers as Draco began passing out cards addressed to each child. It was then he noticed us and excitedly beckoned Rose and Teddy into the circle, encouraging the other children to make room. They did and Rose and Teddy squeezed in, joining the fold.

There were parents gathered along the edges of the room, seated in chairs. Ron and I took the two open seats at the end and watched Draco interact with the children.

"Everyone, this is Teddy Lupin and Rose Weasley. They are joining our group. Give them a warm YPGB welcome!" Draco announced.

There were hoots and hollers, clapping hands, and shoes stomping on the stone floor. Then Draco had all of the children stand up one at a time and introduce themselves. If they hadn't yet received their card, he handed it over as they sat back down. Once introductions were out of the way, he continued with the earlier topic, "Rose, Teddy, you will be disappointed to learn that you just missed our charity party. On the fifth Saturday of every month that has five Saturdays in it, we throw a party and invite disadvantaged children who lost parents in the war. We give them new clothes and toys. There is cake and ice cream and games, crafts, and fun activities. It's really a great time and the good news is that there are five Saturdays this month too!"

A cheer went up around the circle; the children clearly enjoyed their charity parties. Draco then proceeded to go over the agenda for the night, which was mostly to have a Gobstone championship. Soon Draco had the children break up into various groups to play. Several parents came forward, one to supervise each group, freeing Draco to move around and talk to individual children and then to individual parents.

A witch I recognized as Ivy sledge, formerly Parkinson, stood up from amongst the row of parents. She produced a bundle of scrolls from a nearby table and started handing them out to the parents, including me and Ron.

Ivy was Pansy's older sister and was in Slytherin a few years ahead of us. In fact, looking around the room, most of the parents could be recognized as former Slytherins and or Purebloods.

"I feel like I stepped into a nest of rattlesnakes," Ron whispered to me as we unfurled the scrolls.

I ignored him in favor of looking over the scroll. There was a list of activities, including the dates and locations of each. Up next was basket weaving and broom races, then an astronomy night, followed by fencing, then broom races and making bracelets, and rounding out the list, Muggle movie night at an actual Muggle movie theater. There was a note that snowboarding would now be offered along with skiing during the coming winter, encouraging us parents to plan ahead for the next season. It was an apparent effort to diversify into new Muggle activities and it seemed like a good choice.

There was also a survey asking which activities our children would be most interested in doing next month. It was divided into sections, the first labeled Muggle Activities with roller skating, football, rugby, and visiting a children's museum listed. There were also sections for Arts and Crafts and Traditional Pureblood Activities.

Later Ron and I were given pamphlets, with general information about the organization. They featured camping and swimming activities in the summer, regular trips into both Magical and Muggle society in the spring and fall, and various cold-weather activities in the winter. Each activity was associated with a merit badge, which were worn on the uniform robes the parents were required to purchase.

"Look at this mission statement," Ron said, tapping a section on the backside I hadn't gotten to yet. "This wasn't the mission statement when I was a kid, let me tell you."

 _Our goal as the Young People of Great Britain is to create well-rounded, healthy children, better prepared to go out into the world and lead successful lives. We do this by exposing all Magical children to both Magical and Muggle societies, crafts, games, sports, and traditions. We encourage the core values of friendship, creativity, love, respect, tradition, honoring ancestors, and most importantly acceptance for all. But what our children will tell you they like most about our organization, is how much fun they have with us!_

"Doesn't sound too bad," I concluded. Ron snorted.

Having exchanged a few words with each of the parents seated in the row, Draco finally reached the end where Ron and I sat. "First, I want to thank you both for bringing your children and allowing them to join our organization. I hope that having them involved will make our group stronger, because there is strength in diversity. Please come to me with any ideas, suggestions, or feedback you might have," Draco said.

"You're assuming we're coming back," Ron replied.

"Your wife is most welcome to come in your stead." Draco directed the statement to Ron.

"I'm really hoping Rose hates this thing," Ron said grumpily, arms crossed.

"I seriously doubt it. I gave her a picture book on how to play," Draco said with a smirk, pointing to the circle where Rose did indeed have her nose in a book. "I figured she might take after her mother."

"Great. Just great." Ron's tone indicated that he actually thought just the opposite.

"I can't get Teddy officially on a team, but I can get him on the pitch with the other children," Draco said, shifting gears.

"That'd be great! What do I need to do?" I asked optimistically.

"First you need to understand that since he won't be on a team, he cannot play in any of the games. It wouldn't be safe anyway, because he missed the training the other children have had. It will strictly be practice," Draco started.

"Alright, that's still great. He can get used to it and have a leg up when he officially joins the team next quarter," I replied.

"Good. Also, you will have to make a donation to the league to go towards the fee for use of the pitch and you need to buy Teddy all of the supplies and protective gear. You won't be required to buy a uniform, since he won't be playing in the games, but you can if you like," Draco continued.

"That's fine," I said.

"What's the catch?" Ron asked.

"The catch is that Teddy will be practicing on Tuesday nights with Team Flint, led by volunteer coach Marcus Flint," Draco answered.

"Flint!?" Ron and I exclaimed simultaneously.

"Flint's daughter, Sasha, is on the team. She's over there, the one with the green bow in her black hair," Draco said pointing to a boxy looking girl with an unfortunate resemblance to her father. "She's seven and half, but they moved her up early, because of her size and skill. Her father is a friend of mine and is doing this as a personal favor to me."

"There isn't anyone else you could get to let Teddy practice with their team?" Ron asked, more disturbed by the situation than I was.

"Possibly Victor Crabbe, Vincent's older brother… Vic Junior is the round kid in the red robes over there." Here Draco pointed to a pink faced chubby kid in another circle. "But that team practices on Wednesdays, so unless you plan on taking Teddy out of Hip-Hop, I think your best bet is Team Flint."

"Crabbe can't possibly be better than Flint," Ron said, likely implying that both options were bad in his book.

"We'll take team Flint. Teddy will be so excited," I said.

Draco gave me the details regarding the location of the Quidditch pitch and the meeting time. Aquila's younger team apparently shared the same timeslot, with the two teams splitting the pitch for practice. Before he moved on, he offered to give Ron the information regarding the Art class Cepheus was in, in case Rose wanted to join. Ron declined, claiming that his schedule was busy enough as it was.

As the evening wore on, winners were declared for each circle and awarded a large sticker as a prize, everyone else receiving small stickers as consolation prizes. The winners played each other in one last round, while all the other children watched, cheering on the players. The winner of that round was allowed to pick out one new Gobstone from a handmade basket filled with shiny colorful stones. When that was over, the children made a dash for the snack table, where the elves had just set out a platter of sliced oranges and apples.

Rose came over first, an apple slice in her mouth and two more in one hand, the book on Gobstones in the other. Another little girl trailed behind her and Rose made garbled introductions through the food in her mouth. It came out something like, "'i i edor." She had her mother's love of books and her father's manners.

Ron took the book from his daughter and asked, "What?"

"I'm Heather. Heather Smith," the girl said, extending a sticky hand out to shake. She had short brown hair, pulled back with a rainbow colored headband and bright pink robes. She was the same height as Rose, so I guessed she was about five.

"Nice to meet you Heather," Ron replied, shaking hands with the girl. When he pulled his hand away, he looked down at it, making a disgusted face. "You should wash your hands."

Heather looked about ready to cry as she ran off in the direction of her mum, likely to have her hands spelled clean.

"Ron!" I chastised.

"Dad!" Rose seconded, clearly put out that Ron had scared off her new friend.

"What?" Ron asked oblivious.

Rose huffed and went off after Heather, leaving me to explain sensitivity to my friend. Teddy was next to materialize out of the crowd, handing his sticker over to me to hold and introducing us to Vic Crabbe.

"Hi," Vic said shyly.

"Hello. It's nice to meet you," I replied, a quick dart of my eyes to Ron to make sure he didn't open his mouth.

"Why does Teddy call you Harry? You're his father, aren't you?" Vic asked me.

"I'm 'dopted," Teddy answered with a shrug.

"His parents died in the war; they're heroes," I explained.

"Danny is 'dopted too and he calls his parents Daddy and Father," Vic replied.

I didn't know who Danny was, but I figured he was one of the other boys here at the meeting. "But I didn't adopt Teddy until he was three. He already called me Harry, so I've always been Harry," I said.

"Who cares? Vic's in the theater group with Aquila! He's gonna get to swordfight with her!" Teddy announced.

"I got Tybalt. Aquila is Mercutio," Vic explained softly. It was hard to hear him over the sound of the other kids.

"Oh congratulations. What role did Cepheus end up with, do you know?" I asked.

Vic nodded and answered, "Romeo."

"Pheus was going on and on about the dress he gets to wear," Teddy added, rolling his eyes.

"Romeo in a dress?" Ron asked. He'd seen the play with Hermione on one of their dates.

Vic nodded. "We all agreed. Pheus says the Romeo costume's ugly and he wants to wear something else and his father already bought him the other one, so we voted and now he gets to wear the pretty one," he said in one long sentence.

"Pheus was different tonight," Teddy added.

"Different how?" I asked.

"He sat with us. Quila too; she was sitting with the girls. It was weird," Teddy explained.

"Quila is a girl. She always sits with the girls. Pheus is a boy. He always sits with the boys," Vic countered, as if this was obvious.

"Not at Dance class," Teddy retorted.

"Teddy, that is probably because they hang out with their own classes at Dance class. Here they aren't separated into different classes," I interjected.

"Maybe," Teddy said as a large chubby woman called to Vic.

"My mother. Seeya," Vic said, before galumphing away.

"One more Crabbe in the world; just what we needed," Ron said sarcastically. When my friend was in a bad mood, he didn't let up.

"Oh shut it, Ron," I complained. "Come on, let's find Rose and get out of here."

As far as I was concerned, Ron was very close to having me tell Hermione about his behavior. He wouldn't thank me for ruining his sex life, but I would if he hurt one more Pureblood kid's feelings. Hopefully though, the threat of telling Hermione would be enough to get him to knock it off. But I didn't want to say anything in front of the kids, so it would have to wait until Monday at work.

* * *

Author's Note: Now Harry and Draco have another excuse to spend time together. Up next will be another Saturday party. We will finally meet Draco's ex and the real drama will begin. I imagine Draco will be the bitter type. Anyone have any choice insults Draco might use?

Please Review!


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Note: JDTEA, Ern Estine 13624, and lizhawkins549 all left me wonderful feedback. Thank you all for the inspiration to keep going; I needed it this week after losing this chapter and having to rewrite it from scratch.

* * *

After my little talk with Ron at work, he was doing a better job of keeping his mouth shut around Draco, the other Malfoys, and Pureblood children in general. Just the same, I was relieved that Hermione would be the one accompanying Rose to the charity party. The plan was that she'd bring Rose and Hugo and meet Teddy and me there at the park.

On Friday Rose had been really excited about the party, going on about the petting zoo and the magical park, the cake and the pizza, as well as the games and the crafts. Teddy, however, was of a different mind.

Once again, the only thing Teddy could talk about was Quidditch and the Malfoy Saturday Quidditch party he was missing out on.

"Harry, can you _please_ ask Aquila's dad this time? I _really_ want to go," Teddy whined as we made our way to the park. He didn't like side-along apparition, so we had flooed into the wizarding pub down the street and walked from there.

"No, Teddy. I already told you that the parties are for the kids who have classes with the Malfoy kids. You aren't on Aquila's Quidditch team—you are on the other team—so you weren't invited. End of story," I said for what was at least the tenth time this month.

"But Aquila said that if you ask her dad, then he'll say yes and I can go," Teddy retorted, again.

There was a chance that a request from me really would get Teddy invited over to Malfoy Manor for a third Saturday every month, which was why I refused to ask. I was already seeing Draco three nights a week and two weekends a month. Draco was hot and we'd been getting on quite well, but this was bordering on too much of a good thing. I feared that upping our dose of Malfoy to three weekends a month might just be the tipping point. Plus, I didn't want anyone to notice my continued obsession with Draco that only seemed to be getting worse the more I saw him. My life was already starting to revolve around the wizard and as it was, I couldn't stop him from being the focal point of my dreams.

In addition to those concerns, there was the fact that Teddy and I both had lives prior to reconnecting with the Malfoys. Dromeda wanted to see her grandson on a regular basis and because of her physical limitations, she wasn't able to take him places by herself, especially not to an event held outside on the lawn of Malfoy Manor. She went with us to the dance parties and sometimes to the YPGB meetings, but the other events were too much for her.

As for me, I had other time commitments in my life, such as the weekly Weasley get-togethers every Sunday and evenings with my friends. Dromeda and Teddy went with me to the Weasleys and the day had pretty much been designated family time since the end of the war. I saw Ron, Hermione, George, Angelina, and Ginny then, but they only accounted for about half of my oldest friends. My other friends also expected to see me on a regular basis and that used to include Friday and Saturday nights. As it was I still had three Saturdays free every month to spend with them and I wanted to keep it that way.

The only reason this Malfoy-heavy schedule was working in the first place, was because I was currently single. Eventually I'd get over my crush on Draco, someone else would come along, and I'd want a bit of time to spend with that special someone. As it was, juggling Teddy's three weekday extra-curricular activities and two weekend parties and a boyfriend, was borderline impossible. If I committed to one more thing, then I was practically condemning myself to a life of celibacy, because I couldn't agree to something now and then take it away from Teddy once I met a man.

"Just drop it Teddy. I'm not going to ask. Now today is supposed to be about helping orphans and doing a good deed to make their lives a little happier. Do you really think these kids want to hear you whining about a Quidditch party?" I asked as we entered the park.

"But I'ma war orphan too and a Quidditch party would make _my_ life happier," Teddy reasoned.

"Yes, but you're _my_ war orphan. There are a lot of kids coming today that aren't nearly so lucky," I replied.

As we drew near the children gathered in the park, Teddy grumbled to himself, the only intelligible word being, "Unfair."

"Teddy!" Cepheus called excitedly from where he and a handful of boys were setting up a picnic table for the party.

"Put a smile on your face and go help out," I instructed Teddy.

"Fine," Teddy grumbled, making for Cepheus' table.

I spotted Hermione two dozen feet away sitting under a shady tree with baby Hugo on her lap. I headed in their direction, one eye and both ears on Teddy.

"Come join our table, Teddy! We have the best toys!" Cepheus exclaimed as Teddy approached, holding up a muggle remote control.

Vic Jr. was in the group too, holding a muggle toy truck, which he set on the ground in front of the boys. Behind them was a table filled with every kind of toy a little boy could want, from sports equipment, both Muggle and Magical, to building blocks, to potions sets, to marbles, to Weasley Wizard Wheezes items, to action figures, to Muggle vehicles.

Cepheus pressed a lever and the truck took off, Vic, Teddy, and three other boys following after.

"Where's Rose?" I asked Hermione.

"Over there with the girls," Hermione answered, pointing to where Rose was indeed talking to half a dozen girls around a table filled with girl toys. It was mostly dolls and there was a suffusion of pink.

The girls, like the boys, were fawning over a Muggle toy, this one a doll that moved and talked. In addition to the two tables of toys, there were another three tables being set up by the other children in our YPGB group: a table of girl clothes, one of boy clothes, and a craft table.

A few minutes later, Draco came forward to make an announcement. "Listen up everyone. Listen up!" he called, getting the children's attention. The kids stopped horsing around and moved in closer to hear. "Our guests will start arriving any minute now. Remember, this is a charity party and we are here to give back to the less fortunate. I know we are giving them some pretty cool stuff, but remember that these children do not have the advantages that you lot do. So I don't want to see any jealousy or trying to keep the good toys for yourselves. Does everyone understand?"

Draco looked around the group of children and waited while the little heads nodded and murmured out their understanding.

"Good. Now I want each and every one of you to go out of your way to make today special for at least one of our guests. Play with them, make friends, talk, and have fun. Got that?"  
Draco asked and again the kids nodded. "Good. Gifts are last and the animal pen does not open for another hour, so you are all dismissed: go play and have fun!"

The kids cheered and half took off running for the playground. The other half divided themselves up between the table with the girl toys and the table with the boy toys, looking at the goodies. The boys seemed most interested in the remote control truck and the girls couldn't get enough of the talking doll. Wizarding toys and Magic were everyday things to them; it was the Muggle that was unfamiliar and fascinating.

Draco walked over to where the boys, including Cepheus, were wearing in the toy truck. "Cepheus, you do know that that truck is going home today with one of our guests, do you not?" he asked.

"Yes Father," Cepheus answered, standing up straight and clasping his hands, and the remote, behind his back. Today he was dressed like all of the other children: in his YPGB uniform robes, complete with merit badges.

"And you do realize that the toys do not need to be mucked up in advance? I am sure that whoever receives this truck will be able to break it on his or her own," Draco continued.

"But Father! We just wanted to see how it works!" Cepheus protested.

"I know son, but we all know how easily these things break and catch on fire. We don't want it destroyed before the party even starts," Draco said sternly.

I'd purchased a few such Muggle toys for Teddy over the years and while none of his had caught fire, they had all broken quickly once inside Grimmauld Place. One had actually blown up, but it was just a teeny explosion. The solution seemed to be to only play with them in non-Magical locations and store them at a Muggle-neighbor's house in between usage. According to Hermione, there was something about the way the battery packs reacted to the Magical field that was doing it. This park was an open area, so maybe the batteries would be alright, but it was a Magical park, so there was a possibility that the Muggle toys would be no good by the time the orphans got them home, especially if in use.

"Alright, we'll put it back," Cepheus said, taking the few steps over to the table and setting the remote down.

One of the other boys who I recognized as Reggie picked up the truck and returned it to the table.

"Thank you," Draco said, before walking over to the table with the girls and repeating the lecture with regards to the Muggle doll.

The girls put the doll back and scampered off to the playground. Draco then went to the front entrance of the park to greet the arriving guests. A few orphans and their adopted parents and or guardians had already arrived and been greeted by Ivy, one of the other two parents in charge of the event. The final parent in charge, Yasmine, was monitoring the picnic table area with the gifts, snacks, and drinks. Together Draco, Ivy, and Yasmine ran almost everything about our YPGB group. The rest of the parents, like Hermione and me, were scattered around the park keeping an eye on our children.

The park was open to the public and not restricted to the attendees of our party. As such a handful of people came and went through the rear entrance. Among those entering that way, were a short wizard and a tall boy. The wizard was about my height or maybe a little shorter with a stocky, but lean build. He had dark hair and neatly trimmed facial hair in the goatee fashion. Wearing expensive looking robes, he was the type that would fit in easily amongst the over-dressed group of YPGB parents. Most strikingly, he in no way resembled the boy he was with and appeared to be about my age, making him too young to be the boy's father.

Where the wizard had dark hair, the child had light brown. Where the wizard was stocky, the kid was lean and lanky. Where the former had a square jaw and handsome, rugged features, the child had a heart-shaped face with a rounded jaw. The wizard's eyebrows were sharply arched, while the boy's were curved. The elder was pale, in contrast to the deep tan of the younger. Then there was the fact that the boy, despite being obviously younger, was only an inch shorter.

The boy was tall enough that I would've figured him for Hogwarts age, if the school was not currently in session, making his appearance here impossible. I was certain he wasn't finished with school, both by the childish way he carried himself and by his clothing. He wore the same YPGB uniform that Teddy, Rose, and the rest of the kids in our group wore. The YPGB was for children not yet in Hogwarts, meaning that this boy had to be not yet eleven come this past first of September. Thus I guessed his age at just turned eleven or not quite eleven.

I took in the pair with the attention of an Auror, but I saw nothing sinister about a wizard taking an unrelated boy to the park during a party for orphans, so I turned my attention back to where Teddy was playing on the monkey bars.

It was only when Aquila yelled out, "Daddy!" that I looked again in the direction of the wizard and the boy. Aquila jumped off of the jungle gym she'd been climbing on and ran at top speed in their direction, apparently recognizing the wizard.

Cepheus then stuck his head out from the inside of a tube slide, looking around excitedly. When he spotted the wizard and the boy, he too shouted, "Daddy!" and took off running in their direction.

Aquila reached the pair first, flinging herself into the wizard's arms. He picked her up and swung her around in a fierce hug. Then Cepheus was there, clambering to be picked up too. The wizard put Aquila down and repeated the twirling hugging process with her brother. Meanwhile the unknown boy and Aquila hugged like old acquaintances. And although the boy looked no more like a Malfoy than he did the unknown wizard, he did have the same uniform as the Malfoy children and a large number of merit badges in common. Judging by the ear-to-ear smiles all around, the two Malfoy children were ecstatic to see these new arrivals and the pair was just as happy to see them.

When the wizard finally put Cepheus down, the two boys hugged. The wizard picked Aquila up, hoisting her onto his shoulders, and she bent her head down to speak with him. A moment later, she pointed towards the swings, where Pansy and Blaise Zabini were pushing Equuleus; the Zabinis were newly married and did not yet have kids, but they had been tending to the youngest Malfoy all day while Draco set up the party. The wizard took off in the direction of the swings, Aquila on his shoulders. The two boys, still holding hands, followed happily after.

The group only made it halfway to the swings. Draco, having noticed the interaction between the new arrivals and his children, had run flat out from his position by the front entrance. He was fit and a fast runner, so he was closing the wide distance between them at a rapid pace.

Noticing Draco racing across the park and anticipating trouble, I stood up and said to Hermione, "I'm going to see if they need my help."

Just then Draco came to a screeching halt in front of the wizard and bellowed, "Put my daughter down now!"

"Harry, sometimes outside help isn't appreciated in family matters," Hermione warned to my back, because I was already jogging away.

I'd started off quite a bit closer to the confrontation than Draco had, so I made it in mere seconds.

As I approached, the wizard was saying, "Calm down, Draco. Surely we can talk about this."

"Don't you tell me to calm down! Release her this instant!" Draco yelled back.

It was while Draco was yelling that I cast first a Notice-Me-Not charm and then a Silencing Bubble, figuring that this was something that Draco would want kept private. At that moment he may have been too upset to notice the audience, but almost everyone in the entire park was now staring, so I doubted it would be long before he did notice. If I waited for that to happen, I'd be cast out with the rest of the looky-loos. As it was, I'd done the casting, increasing the likelihood that I would be included in whatever disagreement was in the process of happening. It also meant that if this turned violent, I'd just isolated myself from all of my most likely sources of backup.

"Alright," the wizard said, lowering Aquila to the ground.

"Father, Daddy came! You said he wouldn't, but he did!" Cepheus exclaimed happily, still holding hands with the unknown boy.

Draco grabbed his daughter's arm and pulled her towards him. She protested, "But Father! I want to see Daddy!"

"He was not invited. I specifically sent the invitation for Danny and any escort _other_ than _him_! Only someone with the brain the size of a flobberworm wouldn't be able to figure out that that meant not to come," Draco replied to Aquila, while staring angrily at the wizard. He didn't, I noticed, protest the use of the term Daddy in regards to the wizard. "You should not be here!" The last was practically growled at the wizard.

"I would gladly allow you to see Danny without my supervision, if you would be kind enough to return the favor. As it is, you left me with no alternative to see my children than to crash your little party," the wizard replied.

"I am not _ever_ going to let you see _my_ children!" Draco returned.

"But we want to see Daddy!" Cepheus whined.

"We miss Daddy!" Aquila seconded.

With the children referring to the wizard as Daddy, I figured he must have dated one of their parents. Judging by the fierce hatred Draco was projecting towards the man, I guessed he was Draco's ex. There was no other rational that could explain such a reaction.

"Draco, if I may interject," I ventured cautiously, not wanting to get my head bitten off.

"Yes?" Draco asked, not taking his eyes off of the other wizard. His tone was still harsh, but not nearly as harsh as when directed at the wizard.

"The children shouldn't be in the middle of this fight. Why don't you send them all to go play? Or do you not trust this boy with your kids either?" I asked.

Draco looked to the boy then. "No, Danny is fine. He's a good child. He's actually invited; a war orphan. It's only his arse-wipe of an adoptive dad I have a problem with."

"So are you, sir, also okay with it if the children go play?" I asked the wizard, still unaware of the man's name.

"It's fine with me. Go ahead Danny," the wizard replied.

"But I want to see Father!" the boy, apparently named Danny, exclaimed releasing Cepheus' hand and throwing himself at Draco.

Draco let go of Aquila's hand and engulfed Danny in a hug. "I miss you too, son. I'm sorry about this, but there is nothing I can do."

"I wanna live with you, Father!" Danny pleaded.

"I wish you could live with me, too. But legally you belong to him and you have to live with him. Next year though, you will be off to Hogwarts. It will be better then, I promise," Draco replied.

"You could grant me visitation of yours and I could grant you visitation of mine," the wizard offered in what was probably the most reasonable thing said so far.

"Never," Draco spat out over Danny's shoulder, before turning to look the boy in the face. "Don't worry son. Soon you will be old enough to see me whenever you want, without him."

The boy had a tear running down his face, but he said nothing and nodded.

"Remember I love you," Draco said and again the boy nodded.

"Love you too," Danny replied.

"Now take your brother and sister over there and stay with Aunt Pansy and Uncle Blaise," Draco instructed.

"Is that alright with you? Danny being with Pansy and Blaise?" I asked the wizard.

"Pansy is a nosey harpy, but I have no problem with it," the wizard answered me.

Danny complied, letting go of Draco. He took Aquila's and Cepheus' hands. Together the three children walked slowly towards the swing set where Pansy had Equuleus on her hip and Blaise was standing guard over them like a fierce mother dragon.

I was a bit surprised by the interaction between Draco and Danny, having assumed the bond between the other wizard and the Malfoy children was one way. But now it seemed that wasn't the case and this was a former family split in two, although I still didn't know the circumstances behind it all.

The moment the three children were outside the Silencing Bubble, both the wizard and Draco started screaming names and accusations at each other. It was hard to decipher it all, since they were not letting the other speak and yelling over each other, but I did pick up the gist. Draco was an overbearing self-righteous prick, a closeted fag with a stick shoved so far up his arse it was amazing it didn't come out his nose, and a git for keeping the children away. The other wizard was a no-good cheating philandering pathological liar whose brains, composed of troll dung, were in his dick, which accounted for why he fucked anything that moved.

"Stop! Shut up!" I bellowed, interrupting the bickering.

"Twat," the other wizard said to Draco, getting in one final insult.

"Home-wrecker," Draco replied, getting in one last jab of his own.

"Stop it, the both of you!" I repeated. I waited to make sure I finally had both of their attention, before continuing. "Draco, would you kindly tell me what this is about? I don't even know who this wizard is."

"My apologies Harry. This is my ex-boyfriend Phil, the cheating arsehole who broke up our family, because he couldn't keep his pants up," Draco explained.

"Actually, my name's Jacob, but everyone calls me Jack," the wizard said, offering me his hand to shake. I took it quickly, getting the task over with before Draco could take offense.

"Jack is short for Jackarse," Draco explained evenly, as if this was nothing but the stone-hard truth.

"Would you stop telling people my name is Phil?" Jack asked, sounding annoyed.

"I just thought it would save everyone a lot of hassle if they knew from the start that you are a dirty rotten scummy philanderer. Phil suits you," Draco replied.

"Right. You two were dating and Jack cheated," I summarized.

"Pansy caught Phil here with his filthy tongue down another wizard's throat and this stupid slimy git couldn't even be man enough to own up to it! I had to find out for myself about his long, _torrid_ list of fuck-buddies," Draco added. "I should have listened to Pansy in the first place; she always hated the git."

"And Draco, ever the over-reacting prat that he is, decided to retaliate by keeping three of our children away from me. I have been trying to arrange visitation with them for _months_ now, but his arsehole-ness refuses. The only thing I could do was to keep Danny away from him in return, so that he'd see how it feels," Jack explained, not protesting the allegations of cheating.

"I hardly think that is fair, since _I_ am not the one who broke up our family and put getting a wad off over the needs of our children. No one ever caught me making out with street workers in Knockturn Alley and I certainly haven't slept with half of the Wizarding World while in a supposedly monogamist relationship. This situation is _entirely_ _his_ fault, so why should Danny and I suffer too?" Draco asked, pointing an accusing finger at Jack. "The only mistake I ever made was trusting him and bringing him into our family."

"I never ignored the needs of our children," Jack replied.

"Did so. They _needed_ a stable home and disease free parents," Draco retorted.

"Whatever. The facts remain that Danny is mine and until you let me see Aquila, Cepheus, and Equuleus, I will not be letting you see him," Jack countered.

"It is better for my children to forget you ever existed and move on. Danny is different: he's old enough to remember," Draco said.

"And how do you think that makes me feel, huh? Knowing that my baby Equuleus probably doesn't even know who I am anymore?" Jack asked, emotion in his voice. He was clearly hurting over the loss of children he considered to be his.

"Don't care. You should have thought about that _before_ sleeping around and they are not your children. They belong to me and my wife," Draco answered.

"Just as Danny belongs to me. And you're so pure, is that it? Are you saying you aren't sleeping with Potter here? Yeah right, why else would he be in the middle of this?" Jack accused Draco pointedly.

"Typical, you accusing me of being like you, again." Draco rolled his eyes. "That alone should have tipped me off that you were a degenerate rakehell. But no, I am not saying that at all. We've been broken up for six months, giving me six very long months to enjoy Potter's nice hard shaft up my arse. Let me tell you, there is nothing like Savior cock fucking you until you scream. I'm surprised I can even stand straight right now after the buggering he gave me just this morning. Oh, and my knickers! They are positively dripping with Savior ejaculate," Draco fibbed. "Isn't that right, Potter?"

"Er…" I wasn't sure how or why the argument had switched focus to me like this, nor did I know what to do to get myself out of it.

"Whatever, you liar. I bet you think that keeping yourself pure somehow puts you above the rest of us," Jack said to Draco, clearly seeing through the lie on his own. "Tell me Potter, have you had sex with more men than fingers you can get up your bum?"

"That is none of your business!" I retorted.

"See Draco, it's just you. No one else is so stuck in antiquated ideals that it interferes with their sex lives," Jack said.

"And no one else is as full of shite and disease ridden as you are," Draco countered.

"Alright, enough, the both of you. Just stop this, please," I said, holding both hands up. They stopped, so I continued. "This is getting us nowhere. This is not the time or the place to have this out. We are in a public place surrounded by children and their nosey parents."

"But you cast the Notice-Me-Not and Muffliato, did you not?" Draco asked me.

"A silencing spell with the Notice-Me-Not, actually," I clarified.

"That's even better, because now they can't hear how shrill Draco's rants are, even when muffled," Jack commented.

"You are one to talk. You sound like a harpy with its head cut off," Draco retorted.

"Look at all of the attention you two are attracting, even with the spells," I directed, pointing at the adults, half of whose eyes were trained on the area disguised by spell. Notice-Me-Nots worked best on Muggles. With wizards who knew what to look for, it was pretty obvious that there was something being hidden. Plus Silencing Bubbles occasionally gave off noticeable discharge. Between the two, anyone who was aware of how much Jack and Draco disliked each other was watching attentively for any sign of the hidden fight.

"Potter is right. We cannot do this here. It is best if you leave now," Draco told Jack in probably the most civil tone he'd used with the wizard today.

"No way. So you can spend time with my Danny and I can't see your three? Not. A. Chance," Jack replied.

"Danny was invited. It is a charity function for war orphans, after all," Draco returned, still calmer than he'd been, but starting to get riled up again.

"Right, so Jack doesn't want Draco to see Danny and Draco doesn't want Jack to see Aquila, Cepheus, or Equuleus. Is that correct?" I asked and both wizards agreed. "The only solution then is for neither of you to interact with any of the children. You both stay away and let the children play together." I then looked towards the group of Malfoy children gathered around Danny and being guarded by Pansy and Blaise. The kids looked happy to be reunited and were chatting. Whatever had caused the split between the parents clearly had nothing to do with the children.

"This is a YPGB charity party. I am one of the three leaders of our group. I have responsibilities to carry out," Draco objected.

"Well talk to the other two mums and switch so that wherever Danny is, you are somewhere else," I reasoned.

"And Danny doesn't need to stay for the gifts. We don't need your charity," Jack added.

"Cepheus picked out one of those Muggle trucks for Danny. I told him there was very little chance Danny would end up going home with it, but he still insisted," Draco said.

"Our younger son is a sweet boy. Tell him we appreciate the thought, but just the same, I'd rather not take home a fire hazard," Jack replied.

"Only the one toy heli-copter ever caught on fire," Draco interjected.

"And the rest just fizzled and smoked. Yeah, no thanks," Jack replied.

Obviously these two had quite a bit of shared history together.

"Alright, I will arrange for Yasmine and Ivy to take over any activity that Danny is involved in, if Phil stays on the other side of the park," Draco compromised.

Jack glared at Draco at the use of the name Phil.

"Is that alright with you, Jack?" I asked and Jack nodded. "Good, but that doesn't solve the underlying issue that you both miss each other's children. That is something that you two need to work out elsewhere. I think you should both go to mediation and come to an agreement."

"The only agreement I am going to agree to is that Jackarse here sends Danny over by himself, like he was supposed to do today," Draco said.

"Not going to happen. As long as you are keeping three of our children away from me, I'm going to keep Danny away from you," Jack retorted.

"The both of you are making everyone miserable. Don't you see how much you are hurting your children?" I asked, pointing again to the cluster of children.

"This is Jack's fault for breaking up our family. He should be the one to suffer," Draco insisted.

"I _am_ suffering. I haven't seen three of my children in six months, for Salazar's sake! We've been together since Aquila was a baby. I participated in the conception of Cepheus and Equuleus. I was there for their births. I raised all three of them as my own. And now you tell me that they aren't mine? Fuck you, you bloody arse!" Jack replied.

"You should have thought about the consequences of your actions before you shoved your cock into every gay wizard who would have you," Draco retorted. "Personally, I cannot believe you have not come running, begging me to take Danny back. You work; it was me who took care of Danny and the others all day. We both know Danny told me that you dump him on your mother and sister and never take him anywhere. You are just keeping him away from me to spite me."

"Your mother helps you too," Jack countered.

"My mother helps me; yours is more of a care-giver than you. There's a difference. Besides, I raised Danny as my son since he was five years old and you took him away from me. How do you think that makes me feel?" Draco asked.

"He was the only thing I _could_ take away from you. I tried for months to work out a visitation schedule, but you refused to answer my owls. You left me no choice," Jack countered.

"So you are both hurting. Go to mediation and work something out," I urged.

"I will if he will, but he's too much of a coward to go," Jack said.

"Coward? I am the one with everything to lose. You have nothing to lose," Draco replied.

"You are right: I have nothing to lose because you've already taken everything away from me. But I haven't gone to the papers, have I? I've kept it to myself, even the fact that you've forbidden me from seeing three of my children. If you do not agree to mediation with me, I will tell all," Jack threatened.

I looked pointedly at Draco, making sure he knew my position on the situation. I wasn't directly involved, but I knew enough of what was going on. Jack had cheated and broken up the family and now Draco was getting back at Jack by keeping the children away. If Draco didn't want Jack to tell the Council of Elders everything, Draco would have to compromise.

Draco looked from Jack, to the children over at the playground, to me, and then back to Jack. "Fine," he spat, clearly displeased with having to cave.

"Fine," Jack spat back.

"Good. Now Jack, you go over there." I motioned towards the rear of the playground area on the far side from the picnic tables. "Draco, you go arrange for Ivy and Yasmine to handle things today. I will explain to the Zabinis and the children that they are to stay away from the both of you," I directed.

As Jack turned to storm off, Draco said, "Oh and Harry? In case anyone asks, the number one thing I am looking for in a wizard is an ability to keep his penis in his pants." It was clearly aimed as a dig at his ex. Then he too stormed off.

I canceled the spells and took off in the direction of the swings. Danny was upset to learn that he was forbidden from spending time with Draco, while Aquila and Cepheus were equally upset over not being able to see Jack. Although, they were at least grateful for the chance to see each other again. Equuleus was the only one who seemed oblivious to the situation. The one thing that was for certain was that the rift between their parents was tearing the children apart and breaking their hearts. This couldn't be allowed to go on forever.

Jack did as promised, limiting himself to sending longing looks towards the three Malfoy children, Equuleus in particular. Draco too stuck to the bargain, but blew Danny a few kisses when he caught the boy looking at him.

When the Magical Petting Zoo opened up, the four children migrated there, where they stayed away from both parents for the majority of the visit. Equuleus seemed particularly fond of the Hippogriff, which judging by the tense look on Draco's face and the way he was gritting his teeth, displeased him. Knowing his history with the species, it probably took all of his restraint not to run into the pen and get his children away from the animal. As it was, he sent Yasmine in with directions to keep all of the children out of a ten foot radius surrounding the Hippogriff and to move Equuleus along to the much safer Aethonan. Flying horses were always a safe bet with young children.

The Hoo-Hoo with its extravagant plumage was a crowd pleaser, even though it wasn't a burning day. Teddy came out of the petting zoo raving about how, "Super cool," and "Awesome," the cage full of imps was. Rose, Cepheus, and a large portion of the girls in the group agreed that the Hippocampus, swimming in a large in-ground water enclosure, was beautiful and clearly the best animal there. Aquila was more fascinated by the Tadfoal that could be seen inside the Hippocampus' egg, which all of the children thought was pretty neat.

Draco seemed to want to delay the conclusion of the party, but after the petting zoo closed and the other parents started talking of wrapping things up, Ivy and Yasmine announced it was time to give out the gifts.

Jack called to Danny then, saying, "It's time to go."

There was a tearful goodbye between Danny, Aquila, and Cepheus, but then Danny turned to leave.

Draco called out, "Wait!" and sent one of the boys in our group running over with a sticker to give to Danny. Danny took it with a smile and waved to Draco, before turning once more.

Then Jack and Danny left. The orphans choose their gifts and departed soon after. Once only the kids in our YPGB group were left, Draco gathered them around him armed with his usual stickers and a box of uniform patches.

"As most of you know, after our friends leave, we have a little party of our own to celebrate all that we have accomplished this past month. Rose and Teddy, as our newest members, earned a number of beginner's badges, including the one for charity work. Rose, Teddy, come forward will you?" Draco requested holding out a pair of small patches. Rose and Teddy took the badges and returned to their places. "Now none of the rest of you have earned charity badges for today, but I would like to remind you all that your participation has been marked down and you are now one step closer to earning the next charity badge. Aquila, Sean, Marcus, and Sandra are all only one more act of charity away from earning the gold badge!" A chorus of cheers went up at that. "So for the rest of you, come receive your stickers and give yourselves pats on the back for a job well done!"

The children cheered as they lined up to receive their stickers and patted themselves on the back as they returned to their places. Once they were settled again, Draco returned to his box of patches.

"Let us see, a number of you have received badges this month. If you are not among them, remember that you have to keep at it. It takes hard work and lots of practice to move up to the next level. So here goes," Draco said, before going into his list of additional badges.

Teddy and Rose received a beginner's badge for every activity that they did with the group during this past month. These badges were the smallest and were usually in the shape of the head of an animal. Ivy came over and told me and Hermione to sew them on with lots of space in between, so that the rest of the animal parts could be added when the higher level badges were earned.

Everyone earned a badge for Muggle Movie Night, because that was a new activity for the group. This badge was among the exception when it came to design, composed of an old-fashioned movie reel instead of an animal. But then it also seemed to be a one-off, without higher levels for watching more movies.

A handful of the kids also earned a higher level badge for one of the regular activities. There was a lot of cheering and lively ruckus and then the group was dismissed.

Teddy came over to me with a wide smile and two hands filled with badges for Molly to sew onto his uniform. "Now I'll look a proper YPGB kid, won't I Harry?" he asked proudly.

"You sure will Kiddo," I replied, liking the way this organization so freely rewarded kids. Try an activity once? Get a small badge. Master it, get a full animal of badges. Lose? Get a sticker and have a good time. There wasn't much competition in it, but these were all young children, so I considered that a plus. It wasn't the type of organization I'd pictured Draco being a part of, but I was glad he'd twisted my arm into signing Teddy up. This would be good for him.

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Author's Note: Hot of the press, a second time; I just finished rewriting it after losing the nearly complete chapter earlier in the week :( What do you think of Draco and his ex-boyfriend? Any burning questions left unanswered about his life pre-breakup? It's too bad it ended so ugly. Hopefully he'll have better luck the next time around and now that I've set everything up, it's time for him and Harry to start growing closer. Please Review!


	8. Chapter 8

Author's Note: There seems to be a bit of confusion. Draco and his wife are the biological parents of their three children and are still married. However, they live in separate houses in different countries and always have. When Aquila was a baby, Draco started dating Jack, who had already adopted Danny. Jack helped in the conception of Cepheus and Equuleus, by helping with the semen extraction part; since Draco has never had sex with his wife, all three children were conceived with sperm from a tube. Draco and Jack were together four years and during most of that time they lived together and Draco took care of all four children. Draco still has a good relationship with the wife and shares custody with her; it's only Jack he's kicked out of the children's lives.

I'd like to thank Ern Estine 13624 and JDTEA for the useful discussion on the previous chapter! I'm sad to say there are still so few readers and this story hasn't caught on… I guess it's not most reader's cup of tea.

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It didn't take me long to figure out that the only real chance I had to talk to Draco in private each week was during the Dance class when he went outside with Equuleus. He was always too busy with the children and other parents during the YPGB meetings and Saturday parties. And when Teddy and Aquila were practicing Quidditch, Draco was off supervising Equuleus in her Mommy and Me Art class. Given that I wanted to talk to him, my best bet was to follow him outside the dance studio. That is just what I did two Wednesdays after the charity party.

"Hey," I said, sitting next to him on the bench.

"Hello," Draco replied, pulling out a stuffed bunny from his nappy bag for the baby to play with.

Equuleus took the bunny and hugged it, which activated the magic inside it to start playing a children's song about rabbits and cackling stumps.

Meanwhile, I anticipated Draco's need for privacy regarding this issue and cast a few privacy spells.

"Um, I wanted to ask if you went to mediation…you know, with, er, Jack?"

"As a matter of fact, no, Jackarse and I did not make it to mediation," he answered.

"Draco-" I started to say, but he cut me off.

"We failed the questionnaire they gave us regarding why we were requesting mediation. It turns out mediation is reserved for those ready for it. We were kicked down to counseling for our first session."

"Oh, okay. Did you go to counseling then?" I asked.

"Yes, we did."

"And how did that go?"

"As well as could be expected."  
"Really?" I asked surprised. From the fight I'd witnessed, it didn't seem like Draco and Jack would be able to work through their disagreement in one session, especially knowing how stubborn Draco was.

"Well as well as I expected, at least. I do not know what you were expecting. It turns out counseling is for people willing to be counseled, not for people who just want to scream at each other and exchange insults. We were kicked out."

"No. Draco, you promised me. You have to at least try," I implored.

"Relax Harry, we were only demoted to individual therapy. I have my first session this Sunday. We were ordered to see the same therapist, at separate times, so that I can tell her my problem with Jackarse and she can explain my position to him for me. It should be a piece of cake to convince a stranger that the arse is a no good lying philandering scumbag. Once Jackarse accepts what an arse he is, we'll be promoted back up to counseling," Draco explained.

"Somehow I don't see this issue being resolved any time soon…"

"Personally, I was fine with ignoring it and pretending it didn't exist. If it were not for Danny, I wouldn't give a pixie's fart about playing nice with Jackarse. But listen, Harry, I need to ask you to keep the details of what you overheard to yourself. A lot of people know that we were living together, that we had a fight, and that he and Danny moved out, but only a few people know that he was sleeping around with half the wizards in the country."

"Oh, I wouldn't tell something personal like that," I reassured.

"It's just so embarrassing, you know?" In that moment, Draco's vulnerability was evident on his face and all of the hurt that was underneath the anger was no longer hidden.

"I can imagine."

"Pansy told me from the beginning not to trust him. She always thought he was a lying douchebag. I just wish I'd listened to her or that she'd caught him at it sooner. It's outright disgusting to think about all of the wizards he had sex with while we were together and that isn't even counting the Muggle! They have horrible diseases I'd never heard of. I had to have myself tested. It was the most mortifying experience of my life."

"Not all Muggles have diseases and there are precautions you can take to prevent transfer. I had sex with one once and I'm fine," I said, wanting to make sure he knew that Muggles weren't innately germ-ridden cesspools of disease, even if his ex was.

"You did?" he asked surprised.

"Yes, once, not long after Ginny. But I used protection, so even if he had something contagious, I was safe."

Draco then revealed that he didn't know what I was talking about when I said protection, so I told him about condoms.

"Oh, I wish Jackarse had used them then. It would be nice if he hadn't swapped fluids with a dozen people and then swapped them with me," he said.

"Only a dozen? I thought you said it was half the wizards in the country?" I asked. Clearly he was exaggerating when he said the latter, but they were together for five years and Draco was really upset about it, so I figured the numbers were higher than a dozen.

" _Only_ a dozen? Don't you think that it's a dozen too many?"

"Well yes, given that you too were dating at the time, one is too many."

"I knew he'd been with a lot more men than I had when we started dating, but when that number doubles during the course of the relationship…It's just so much worse," he said, sounding a bit depressed.

"He'd only been with a dozen men beforehand and you thought that was a lot?" I asked, just to make sure I understood him right.

"Maybe not for you, oh Great Savior, but for me, yes. The war wasn't conducive to sleeping around and being married to a witch didn't help either. Plus, this was going on six years ago, when we were a lot younger."

"Well actually, I haven't been with that many. Having every person I sleep with make it onto the front page of the Prophet, tends to dampen the mood, for me at least. It makes me wary that someone isn't sleeping with me for me, but because I'm famous. I hate it."

"You would. That's certainly your style to refuse to have sex with someone just because it will end up in the papers," he teased.

"And it's not yours? You seem the type to make someone swear the Unbreakable Vow not to tell in order to get into your bed," I teased back. If there was anyone I knew as wary about things getting out as I was, it was Draco.

"No, but that's a good idea. Next time I'll be sure to take your suggestion," he replied and I laughed. He chuckled too.

"So, if you don't mind me asking, how many wizards have you been with?" I asked.

"You first."

"Alright, six wizards, one Muggle, and one witch. You?"

"Two, if you count Jack. One, if you count Jackarse as a donkey, and therefore an animal. So just the one wizard and one animal."

A snort of laughter erupted from me and he laughed too. His insults were more amusing when not directed at me.

At the sound of our laughter, Equuleus looked up from her toy and laughed too. She tossed the bunny aside, toddled over to us, and raised her hands up in the air for Draco to pick her up.

"Oh, you want to see what is so funny, do you?" Draco asked, picking his daughter up and setting her on his lap.

Together we played with her for a few minutes, listening to her talk gibberish and letting her pull and poke our faces. Then she grew bored with us and Draco put her down.

Equuleus took off running down the sidewalk and I jumped up first to chase after her. When I caught up to her, just outside the garden area, I scooped her up in my arms and said, "Oh no you don't. You have to stay with us."

I returned to the bench, where Draco now had out a ball that was larger than the nappy bag it had been stored in. The ball was hollow and jingled when he shook it. I sat Equuleus down in between me and Draco. She immediately grabbed the ball and slid off of the bench in favor of rolling the jingling ball on the ground and chasing after it.

"Babies are wonderful, aren't they?" I asked, observing how happy the ball made the young child.

"Yes, they are. When are you going to get around to having one?" he asked me.

"Gay," I replied, leaving it at that. Sure I was thinking about adoption, but I didn't really want to get into that discussion at the moment. I thought he might be against adoption and if he was, I really didn't want to find out, because it would ruin the image I had of him right now.

"Didn't stop me. There are women out there who are willing to work around that particular issue."

"I'm not going that route, no way."

"Then what route are you thinking of going?"

Now that he'd directly asked, I could either evade the question or be honest and see what he thought of it. I took a deep breath and chose honesty. "Adoption. I've already adopted Teddy, but in a few years…yeah."

"We all wish we could do more for the war orphans. That's part of why our Saturday event with the YPGB is always a charity function. But I do have to tell you that most of the orphans are already taken. If you keep waiting, they will be all grown up."

I smiled at this response. It was not the type of thing someone against adoption would say. It wasn't outright in support of adoption, but it implied support and that was good enough for me. I definitely wasn't regretting my decision to be honest.

"It doesn't have to be a war orphan. Children are orphaned all of the time. And in the Muggle World, babies are even given up for adoption by parents who don't want them," I explained.

Draco's eyes went wide at this. His tone was of disbelief when he asked, "There are parents who do not want their own children?"

"Yes. Mostly it's people who can't take care of them. Teenagers who're too young or people who can't afford it. Sometimes couples break up during the pregnancy and then decide that the child would be better off in a proper home," I explained.

"The Carrows really should have taught us _that_ in Muggle Studies. I do not think I have _ever_ heard something so repulsive said about Muggles. In my culture, family takes care of family. If there were parents willing to give their child up, then the grandparents would give them each a good smack and raise the children themselves. If there are no grandparents, then the closest relative steps forward. That is sort of how Danny ended up with Jack; his parents were killed by Aurors."

"Danny's parents were killed by Aurors?" I asked surprised.

"Yes. His father was a Death Eater. His mother was in the way. They spared Danny, because he was just a toddler at the time."

"He was there?" I don't know what exactly I'd been imaging had happened, but it was something more along the lines of Death Eaters attacking and murdering Danny's parents. It hadn't once occurred to me that Danny could be the son of a Death Eater.

"Harry, there are war orphans on both sides of the war. I do not discriminate when I invite them to the charity events. In fact, the children of fallen Death Eaters tend to be worse off financially and therefore in more need of help, so they are more likely to get an invite. You do know that right?"

There were a number of charity organizations started after the war to help the families of fallen witches and wizards, but only for the winning side of the war. Not only was the losing side ineligible for these funds and benefits, but also had trouble finding jobs and were often paid less for the same labor. I couldn't stand when this new type of prejudice affected children and innocent relatives. I often spoke out on their behalf. It was only Voldemort's actual supporters who deserved the ostracism.

"No, I had no idea," I answered.

"Does that change how you feel about the charity parties?" Draco asked pointedly.

"No, of course not! The children are innocent. It doesn't matter who their parents were." The only thing that this news changed was that I now thought even more highly of the new Draco.

"Good, I'm glad you agree. For a second there I thought you might be a hypocrite."

"No, I was just surprised. I hadn't considered it, is all. Truthfully, I may have adopted a child of war heroes, but that was just because I was already his godfather. I think all orphans are equally deserving of loving homes," I said.

"When the time comes, if the only orphan available for adoption is from one of the old families riddled with Death Eaters, would you take him or her?"

"Yes, I would. As long as I was confident that I would be able to give the child everything he needed, then absolutely. The main thing that is stopping me right now is time. As a single father, I don't have the time to commit to another child."

"With three, I'm beginning to get that feeling myself. I was fine with four though, when one was older."

"How's your wife with the children?" I asked curiously, shifting the conversation to one of the things I'd been wondering about. The dynamic between Draco and his wife was just so foreign to me. With the way he loved his children so fiercely, I couldn't imagine he would marry someone who wasn't the same way. But then I couldn't imagine a mother like that living in another country and only seeing her children once a week.

"She's incredibly devoted to them and their happiness."

"Yeah? That's great."

"Yes, well she can be absentminded and caught up in her work—she's really quite busy most of the time—but she means well. When she has them, she does her best to make them her top priority and show them how much she loves them, which is really all I can ask," he replied.

That made me smile. "So the perfect mother then?"

"Not hardly. She means well, but she's no super-mother," he said.

"How do you mean?"

"When Equuleus was born, she had trouble handling all three at the same time. She had to have help for the first year, but now it's getting better."

"She doesn't have anyone living with her?" I asked.

"She does. She's been dating someone for three years now. Levin; the children call him Dad too. He helps her some, but he doesn't have children and Equuleus was probably his first real experience with a baby. Camella's mother normally goes over there on Sundays to lend a hand, but she's a lot older than my mother and not nearly as useful. I offered to help more, but she only rarely takes me up on the offer; she thinks I need the one day a week to myself to be with grownups. Mostly she had her family and friends take turns coming over."

"That's good. I'm glad it's working out," I said.

"It is, mostly because Camella is very discrete. Thank you for keeping everything to yourself, by the way," Draco said, returning to our earlier topic. "I was really worried the fight would be all over the papers, but when there was nothing, I knew I had you to thank. You know, for casting the privacy spells too, not just keeping your mouth shut. I want to make sure that you know how much I need this all to stay private. If you slipped later and told someone who blabbed and I didn't warn you first…"

"Yeah, I know how gossip spreads. Don't worry, I'm used to keeping secrets."

"Good. You know, I'm beginning to think I was wrong about you: you don't stink," Draco said with a smirk, referring to the badges he'd made back in fourth year.

"You don't smell so bad either," I replied with a grin. "I don't think I would've believed it if someone had told me back when we were in school, but you're alright."

"Can I get that in writing?"

"Sure. Hey, a group of us are going out to the pub for a few Butterbeers this Saturday. Why don't you come along?"

"I can't. I'm always too tired after the parties and I have to pack the children up for their day with their mum. My friends are coming over Sunday for some drinks, though, if you'd like to come," he offered in returned.

"Can't. Sundays I'm expected at the Weasleys," I explained. If he was asking me to spend time with him alone, then I'd make my explanations to Molly and Arthur and go, but not if Draco's friends were going to be there. I wasn't sure exactly which friends he was referring to, but as far as I knew, I didn't get on with any of his friends. Pansy and Blaise had been cordial enough at the charity party, but we'd only exchanged the bare minimum of communication.

"Next Wednesday it is then," he concluded, pulling out and looking at his pocket watch. It was almost time for the Dance classes to be ending.

"Wednesdays are good. Same time, same place?" I asked and he nodded with a smile. "Right, then we better go upstairs and find our children."

* * *

Author's Note: Harry and Draco are growing closer. I think it might be time for one of them to ask the other on a date; a real date, not the offer of drinks with friends. What do you think?

Please review!


	9. Chapter 9

Author's Note: I'd like to thank Ern Estine 13624, Isabella Ann Malfoy, and JDTEA for taking the time to review! Your feedback is appreciated.

There is a truncated sex scene in the following chapter. The full version can be found on AO3 at (slash) works (slash) 4744088 (slash) chapters (slash) 10843469

* * *

Draco and I had really been getting on lately. We were officially friends and had opened up to each other regarding a lot of personal matters. He'd told me all about his work with the Council, his children, his odd relationship with his wife, and his problems with his ex. With the way he kept his secrets close to the vest these days, I could tell that his sharing with me was a big deal. He'd let down his unperturbed Malfoy mask and let me see the Draco that was hurting inside. I appreciated it all the more, because I knew how rare it was that he did that with anyone.

I'd told him bits and pieces about my job as an Auror, updated him on the lives of my friends and Weasley family, told him pretty much everything there was to know about Dromeda and Teddy, and most recently, discussed my failed relationships with both Ginny and my last boyfriend. Both breakups were cordial compared to his separation from Jack, but it was what it was and I'd shared it with him.

A few weeks later I got up the nerve to ask Draco on a date. It started off with just a simple, "Have dinner with me?" in the garden outside the dance studio while our children were in class.

I thought I knew him fairly well at this point and had come to accept that he was pretty much the perfect boyfriend specimen. Sure he had issues with his ex and vehemently loathed cheaters, but who didn't? If there were two things I could count on from him, one was that he'd never ever think of straying; that much was obvious from his fight with Jack. The second was that I could count on him to put all of our children first in pretty much anything, except when it came to getting back at his ex. It might cause problems if I was to cheat, but I was just as unflinchingly monogamistic as he was, so that wouldn't be a problem. He was also quick with a wand and biting with his tongue, which were things I required in a boyfriend. He was pretty much exactly what I was looking for.

"Is this a friendly invitation?" Draco asked, a smile forming at the corner of his lips.

"No, romantic," I clarified.

"In private, I presume, not at a restaurant."

"If you'd like. My elf can cook or yours."

"In that case, most definitely. My place, Sunday night at five," he answered with an infectious smile. No late dinners for us, it seemed. That was fine with me, because I was used to eating dinner early too.

"Sundays I'm expected at the Weasleys." I didn't want to say it, in case he changed his mind, but I had to put it out there. If one canceled on Molly Weasley, then one better have a good explanation.

"Cancel; it's the only night I ever have free."

"Alright, but you better make this good."

"I can make it _very_ good," he said seductively. Then in a more formal tone, "Owl me with your dietary restrictions and I will have my elves prepare something."

And well that was that. He changed the topic of conversation back to the children and I let him.

* * *

Sunday morning I flooed to the Burrow with Dromeda and Teddy and spent the day with them and the Weasleys. I'd told Dromeda, Molly, Arthur, Hermione, and Ron that I would be leaving early for my date with Draco and they assured me that they would cover for me with the rest of the family. I could count on them to keep it a secret and throw anyone who asked off the trail.

At five minutes to five, I promptly arrived at Malfoy Manor and was greeted by an elf, who led me to the dining room.

Draco was pacing, clearly nervous about our date. He was wearing expensive finely tailored dress robes that hugged his figure like a glove. I was extremely appreciative of the view, but at the same time I felt under dressed, wearing the same casual robes I'd worn to the Burrow.

"Perhaps I should've changed before coming over," I said.

"Nonsense. You look wonderful," he complimented.

"Thanks, so do you," I replied and he smiled, relaxing a bit as his nerves wore off.

"Well come on, the elves have supper ready," he said, motioning with his arms to indicate that we should take our seats at the table.

Draco pulled out a chair for me and I sat in it, amused by his manners. No sooner had we sat down, then glasses of water and red wine appeared.

I took a sip of my wine and was surprised at the sweetness. "This is very good."

"Thank you. Elf made," he explained, taking a sip of his own.

Plates of salad soon materialized in front of us and I dug in. Draco spread his napkin delicately over his lap, picked up his fork, pushed around his lettuce, and set his fork down again without eating a bite. Then he smoothed the napkin on his lap, his frazzled nerves showing.

"I would like to know where exactly I stand with you, Harry," he blurted out, his face cast down to the table. "If you have not noticed, I can be rather possessive of what is mine and I would like to verify that you actually are mine, before I obsess any more over it." Towards the end, he looked up at me, taking in my reaction. He looked tense, as if this was what was weighing on him.

"Where would you like to stand with me?" I asked, not positive he was saying what I thought he was saying.

"If tonight goes well, I would like it if we were official. Boyfriends, that is," he clarified.

I smiled widely, completely in agreement. "Alright."

He smiled back. "Good. Now that that is settled, I can relax and eat my salad," he replied, picking up his fork and actually taking a bite this time.

We ate in silence for a few minutes. I was aware that he tended to be more delicate and proper about his eating, so I tried to copy him, using my best official Ministry function manners. I am normally a fast eater, but because I was being careful, he finished first.

Wiping his fingers on his napkin, Draco asked me about my work.

There were some interesting cases going on, but none that I could talk about. I didn't do much field work anymore, because of Teddy. I needed the more regular hours of a desk job and so did Ron. We were still detectives, but higher up the scale. We supervised other detectives and offered input on dozens of cases at any one time. Sometimes we went out to crime scenes, but only in a supervisory role or because it was a big case and having Ron Weasley and Harry Potter there looked good in the press. I searched my recent memory for a few public tidbits and relayed them to Draco, trying my best to keep the gory bits out of our polite conversation.

We spoke of my work until a dinner of pasta, broccoli, and chicken appeared in front of us. We were both quiet for a few minutes as we dug in.

"So how is the Council of Elders thing going? Any progress?" I asked beginning to get full, twirling a few of the remaining strands of my pasta onto my fork.

"Slow, as always. Slow is the nature of the Council," Draco answered, deliberately cutting his meat into tiny pieces, having eaten all of his pasta first. I'd gone the other way about it, scarfing down the chicken before touching the noodles.

I swallowed a bite and took a gulp of water before asking, "Is there anything I can do to help speed things along? I could make a statement supporting you."

"No!" came Draco's alarmed exclamation, his knife slipping out of his hands and clanging onto his plate, sending a bit of chicken flying off onto the table. He took a deep breath, picked up the meat, tucking it into his napkin. "Don't. Please, never ever, _ever_ , make a statement supporting _anything_ I say or do. That's the worst thing you can do."

"Okaaay…" I wasn't sure what to make of his statement.

He conjured a fresh napkin and wiped his hands. Then he leaned back, away from the table, before adding, "Next time you speak with a reporter, it would be really helpful if you call me an old-fashioned conservative traditionalist who is stuck _centuries_ in the past and that you disagree with everything that I say, do, and stand for. Make it insulting, if you would."

"Right, I'll just explain that I'm dating a useless staunchy stick-up-his-arse Pureblood who is quite firmly stuck in the past," I replied, half joking, half confused about what else to make of what Draco had just said.

"Don't you dare!" Draco exclaimed accusingly.

"What?"

"Don't you _dare_ out me. I will Tongue-Tie you if I have to." His expression was stern, his eyes narrowed at me.

"Tongue-Tie me from telling anyone we're dating?" I asked.

"From telling _reporters_ , yes."

"Alright, I won't tell reporters, but I _would_ like to tell my friends and family."

"As long as you Tongue-Tie them."

I sighed. "Seriously?" I'd already told a handful of people about this date and the restriction complicated things.

"Yes, seriously. I have a reputation to protect," he replied primly, smoothing the lapel of his robes in a haughty manner that told me he was not as serious as his words indicated.

I threw my napkin at him and he laughed.

"Alright, you can tell people you trust to keep a secret, but make sure they know not to tell _anyone_ or even to speak of it in a public setting," he acquiesced. "And _do_ Tongue-Tie any and all blabber mouths, including children. Trust me, there is no one more apt to spill your deepest secrets to the world than a child," he said.

"Your kids didn't seem Tongue-Tied when they were calling your ex Daddy," I replied.

"I didn't Tongue-Tie them over that. I bound them against telling anyone that Phil and I were dating or that he was my boyfriend."

"And that worked?"  
"Well when they start blubbering, unable to speak, I remind them that the jerkwad's name is _Uncle_ Jack and that's usually enough to get them started on a safer track," he explained.

"Good to know. I wouldn't want to ruin my reputation either," I teased. He raised an inquiring eyebrow. "I wouldn't want the world to know that I'm dating you. It'd look bad, it would." I tried to keep a straight face as I said it, but I couldn't help the corners of my mouth from twitching.

He glared at me in response. I laughed and he joined in.

"I am too good looking to date the Savior of the Wizarding World," he joked.

"And too Malfoyish," I added.

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh you know, smart, attractive, and perfect in general."

"Good save," he commented.

"Thanks." I smiled. It was good to know that he could take a joke. A sense of humor was one of the things I looked for in a man.

"Fancy a walk in the garden?" Draco asked.

I agreed and we were soon walking through the landscaped area to a patch where flowers were growing free of overt human interference.

"Ever Flower Wildflowers," Draco explained, gesturing to the plants around him.

It was unusual to have so many varieties in bloom this time of year, so of course it had to be magic.

"Lovely," I replied.

"Tell me, do you think this date has gone well?" he asked.

"Yes, don't you?"

"Absolutely. Does that make us officially dating then?"

"Yes, if that's alright with you."

"Of course…I was just wondering…" he trailed off.

"Yeah? What?" I asked eagerly.

"Does the Savior of the Wizarding World put out? Inquiring minds want to know."

"For you, yes."

"For me on our first date?" he sounded hopeful.

"Only if answering yes will get me laid. If not, then no. I absolutely do not put out until marriage."

"It will."

"Oh, in that case, then definitely on our first date. Can we skip dessert?" I asked eagerly.

"That _is_ what I'd planned for dessert." He smirked and raised an eyebrow at me.

I only hoped he was serious. Over the many years I'd know him, he'd said enough conservative things that I was feeling rather grateful that this wasn't one of the subjects that he took a traditional stance on. But then he was already married, so he couldn't very well insist on marriage before sex.

"Can I apparate us into my bedroom, boyfriend of mine? We have the house to ourselves," Draco said seductively.

I nodded and soon found myself in an overly large room that looked like its furnishings had come out of the Palace of Versailles. It was all dark wood, gilded trim, marbled floors, and baroque wallpaper. The bed was huge and looked inviting underneath a luxurious black blanket.

I barely had time to look around the room, before Draco's lips were on mine and we were kissing. He was a good kisser, lips soft, but firm as they pressed into mine. He nipped and licked and I did the same in turn, molding my lips into his. Then he sucked my bottom lip between his, which had me seeing stars and instantly growing hard. His hands too were on me, leaving warm tingling trails lingering across my heated skin. My hands too were on him, feeling his pecks underneath his robes, before reaching around for a grope of his arse.

I pulled our bodies more tightly together as we kissed, wrapping my arms around his back, my hands clinging to his shoulders. As I did so, I felt his hard length pressed into my stomach and chest. From the feel of it, it was big. Mine was above average, but his was huge, most definitely several inches longer and thicker than mine. I hoped then that it was as big as it felt, because I was a size king.

It felt so good to be in his arms, our bodies pressed into each other and his lips on mine, making my head spin and my knees weak, that I almost didn't want to move from the position. I could've stood there enjoying the feel of him forever, if it weren't for the throbbing in my cock and the yearning I felt for a nice hard one up my arse. So we stayed there kissing like that, for several long hot minutes, before my hips took over and started grinding into him.

There were still several layers of clothing between us, wet and clingy with precum, on my side as least, but they were soft layers, all knickers and robes with no confining trousers to get in the way. His robes were the type that buttoned up the front and I felt the buttons slipping from their holes as we moved, Draco thrusting his hips into mine in rhythm. Slowly his robes started to spring open, one button at a time.

When the critical button gave, I felt a jab in my stomach as his large organ was freed. His hands were in my hair, cradling my head, my neck turned back sharply to meet his lips, his head bent down to mine to compensate for the several inches in height he had on me. I wanted to vanish our clothes and demand that he enter me then and there, unable to stand the anticipation, but first, my curiosity was killing me and I had to get a peek at the monster.

I unwrapped my arms from his shoulders and slowly wiggled them until they were between us and pushed. Softly, but firmly, and at the same time I turned my head, breaking the contact between our lips. I was out of breath, panting from the exertion and how turned on I was. My heart was pounding so rapidly I could feel my pulse on my lips as the chill air blew over the saliva he'd left behind. I could feel my pulse elsewhere too, in my neck as he shifted his mouth to ravish me there, and in my cock as our bodies ground together.

I pushed again, a little harder this time, letting out a sound that was somewhere between a moan and a groan, but was intended to be words. I didn't even know what precisely I was trying to say, my head spinning with lust, but I knew it had to do with him stopping for a moment, so that we could readjust and I could look at his dick.

Eventually he got the hint and stopped sucking on my neck. He let me go completely and I almost fell back as his supportive arm was removed from my back. I stumbled and caught myself, looking down just as he reached between us to pull at my robes, correctly identifying one of the issues that needed fixing before we could continue. My jaw dropped at the sight of the thing: it was as huge as it felt against me, if not bigger. It was the cock of my wet dreams. I was in love.

Reeling from the sight of the most perfect cock imaginable, I barely noticed as Draco removed first my robes and then pushed down my knickers. "Wanted you for ages…Been so long…so fucking horny," he was murmuring as he worked.

I stumbled backwards, my eyes locked on the gorgeous monster, until I found his bed and lowered myself. I watched, captivated, as he made quick work of his remaining buttons, discarding the robes behind him. He quickly pushed his knickers down.

"Marry me?" I requested in a breathless pant, absolutely head over heels in love with the Adonis in front of me. My gaze was locked on his groin, but I was still able to take in the fact that the rest of his body was perfect too. His abs were chiseled, his thighs muscular, and his frame trim and tall. Looks probably weren't the best thing to base a marriage proposal on, but I'd already verified that everything else about him was perfect. He was smart, loving, adored children, loved flying and Quidditch, and hated the press, which was pretty much everything I was looking for, besides the perfect cock and body. He was the whole package and what a package it was.

Draco shook his head, his loose blond hair flying in his face, a wry smile on his lips. "Can't. Already married."

"Divorce her and marry me," I said, reaching out to him and snagging his hand, which I used to pull him closer to me.

"Not yet," he said, wrapping his fingers around mine and bringing our hands up to his mouth to kiss.

"Eventually?"

He nodded and said, "In a few years. Give me a decade and then we can do anything you want. The Council."

"I don't want to think about the Council. Come fuck me," I requested.

His smile widened. "Gladly, but I'd like to make certain we're clear on one more fact, first."

"Which is?"

"Monogamy. We are dating exclusively, correct? I will not be having sex with my wife or anyone else while we're together and I expect the same in return from you," he said.

His possessive streak was so fucking hot, turning me on even further. I had to take a few deep breaths to keep myself grounded, before I could concentrate on responding. "I won't be fucking your wife either," I teased, not wanting him to know I liked this side of him, for fear of encouraging it. Then my tone turned serious, because this was important. "But yes, exclusivity is good."

"Great. Bend over then," he said, reaching for his wand and summoning the lube.

*Sex scene removed. Can be found on AO3

* * *

Author's Note: I considered making Draco sexually repressed, because he is sort of in the closet. But then I thought, he's an adult, he has three children, he's horny from not having sex in ~6 months, and he was never shy; might as well go for it. What do you think?

Please Review!


	10. Chapter 10

I decided to tell Teddy when I was putting him to bed Monday night. "Teddy, you know that Draco and I are friends now, right?" I asked.

"Yeah, Harry. Can you read me The Greatest Quidditch Match Ever Played?" Teddy asked in return.

"Not right now, kiddo. Right now we need to talk."

"'Bout what?"

"Me and Draco."

"You already said: you're friends," he said impatiently, pulling one of his Quidditch figurines from the shelf by his bed, to emphasize the story he thought I should be telling.

I pulled the toy out of his hands and put it back on the shelf. "I'm trying to tell you something important here." That finally got his attention, his eyes making contact with mine. I nodded and continued, "Draco and I are dating. He's my boyfriend."

Teddy was quiet for several long minutes, deep in thought with his hair flickering through the rainbow of colors. I waited with baited breath for his reaction, trying to guess what he was thinking by the colors of his hair. Now Teddy's hair was mostly platinum blond, which he favored around the Malfoys, flickering with aqua, grass green, black, and neon green. There was one tiny flash of blood red in there, but it was very short. Dark, blood red was angry, while orange red signified he had Weasleys on his mind. Black occasionally meant me, although there were about a million other things and people it could mean too. Neon green tended to indicate jealousy, but the green of grass was usually a good sign, although it often signified Quidditch. Aqua was a happy color and was his neutral state.

Finally Teddy's eyes began to sparkle and a smile lit up his face, his hair settling on grass green. "Does this mean I can go to the Quidditch party?"

"Most likely, yes. I'll ask Draco tomorrow," I answered.

"Yes!" Teddy exclaimed, jumping up and making a gesture of victory with his arm. "Woo! Hoo!" He began running around the room, shouting excitedly, grabbing his broom and slinging one leg over.

"Whoa there, wait a second. Not in the house," I said, grabbing hold of the broom handle before he could take flight.

"Huh?" Teddy gave me a dumb-founded expression, as if this wasn't the millionth time I'd told him he couldn't fly in the house.

"You heard me: no flying in the house. It's bedtime. Will you please get back in bed so we can finish our talk?"

"What's there to talk about? You said you'd ask. Aquila said her dad will say yes. I know how to behave at a party. I know how to fly. Talk done."

I laughed then. Only Teddy would take finding out that I was dating Draco Malfoy and turn it into a discussion solely about a Quidditch party. He had a one track mind. I imagined that in his child-sized brain he made the equation: Harry dating Draco = Teddy going to Quidditch Party. Once that connection was made, it was all over. Nothing else was important. It worked in my favor, but it left me wondering what he thought of Draco, minus the Quidditch party.

Once I pulled myself together and stopped laughing, I looked at Teddy and asked, "Okay, what I need to know is how you feel about this, excluding the Quidditch party?"

"I like Quidditch," he said, not getting what I was asking.

"Yes, but besides the Quidditch. Pretend for me for just a moment that we aren't talking about Quidditch or parties here, just Draco Malfoy being my boyfriend. What do you think of that?"

"And my thoughts can't involve Quidditch?" he asked, making sure.

"I want a hypothetical thought not involving Quidditch," I confirmed.

Teddy shrugged. "I like Aquila and Cepheus."

"Good, good. What about Draco?" I prodded.

"I don't play with him, but he seems way more fun than you. He has parties every Saturday…"

I was reasonably sure that the next words out of his mouth were going to be that some of those parties were Quidditch parties, so I interjected, "Besides the parties," to keep him on track.

"His house is cool. Oh, and his house elves cook good. He always has real food and not just ice cream and biscuits."

I was beginning to think I wasn't going to get an actual opinion regarding Draco out of this kid. "Yes, he does have cool stuff, but that's not why I like him, Teddy."

"You like his butt!" Teddy exclaimed, jumping up in his bed, now kneeling on the covers.

I giggled, but nodded anyway. Teddy had heard me talking about attractive wizards with my friends a few times before. Ranking the butts of the wizards who graced the covers of Witch Weekly was always a fun time with the girls and gays. "Among other things."

"I'm happy you're happy, Harry," he said sweetly, sitting back down.

"Aw, thanks kid. Come here," I requested, holding out my arms for a hug. He complied and then climbed back under the covers.

"Draco is a good dad. I bet he's nice."

"I hope you think so; we're having dinner with him tomorrow night."

"We are?" he asked, looking up at me with excitement in his eyes.

"Yes," I confirmed.

"After Quidditch?" he asked excitedly.

"Before. They eat early."

"Before?" He scrunched up his face and whined, "Not biscuits!"

"No, not biscuits."

"Or treacle tarts or pie or cake or ice cream or pudding or candies." He ticked off his fingers as he ranted about all of the dinners I made that he disapproved of.

"No, none of those. It will be real food," I reassured.

"Real food, _before_ Quidditch?" he asked skeptically, as if it were against some law of the universe to serve a proper dinner that early.

"Yes. You know, there are lots of people who eat real meals that early."

"How are we even going to have time to eat, if we have to go to Quidditch? We are _not_ missing Quidditch." His face was hard and stern, unwilling to compromise on this point.

"I will be coming home half an hour early, by half past four. Your gran will have you ready to go. We will floo directly from here to Malfoy Manor. Dinner will start immediately upon our arrival. We will eat quickly. By half past five, the whole thing will be over, you all will be dressed for Quidditch, and we will be flooing to the pitch. Got it?"

"I guess…as long as I'm not late," he conceded.

"Good. Now I just need one more thing from you tonight."

"What?"

"I need to Tongue-Tie you, so you don't accidentally say something to someone."

"Magic?" Teddy asked excitedly. I nodded. "Will it hurt?"

"No, definitely not."

"Tongue-Tie; that's a grown-up thing for big kids only, right?"

"Absolutely," I answered. "Only the biggest, most grown-up kids get Tongue-Tied."

"Alright, let's do this!" he replied.

I did. Then I explained that he wouldn't be able to talk about me and Draco around people who shouldn't know. He was confused, but accepted that it was a special thing for big kids, under the condition that I still tell him that story. I did.

* * *

Teddy was packed and ready to go when I arrived home from work the next day, rushing me through the floo so that he wouldn't be late for Quidditch. We exited out of the fireplace in the main drawing room on the first floor, where my friends and I had escaped from during the war. It brought back bad memories of Bellatrix Lestrange, but I didn't dwell on it, instead taking Teddy's hand and following an elf to the dining room. Draco had never once suggested we spend time in this room, instead favoring a number of other drawing rooms in the Manor.

Draco's three children were there, running around the table in a game of tag. Draco was sitting at the table. Narcissa was nowhere in sight. I took a seat next to Draco, while Teddy joined the children.

"Your mother?" I asked.

"Went to see a friend for the evening," he answered and I nodded. "How did it go?"

"Good, under the condition that I get us invited to a Quidditch party once per month," I answered.

"I happen to throw one of those on the second Saturday of every month. You and Teddy are welcome to come," he replied.

"Excellent. Did you hear that Teddy?" I asked.

"Wha? No," Teddy answered, coming to a sudden halt.

"Draco just invited us to a Quidditch party on the second Saturday of every month," I announced.

"Yay!" Teddy screamed and began jumping up and down in excitement.

The Malfoy children joined in in the excitement, jumping and hollering excitedly.

"How did it go for you?" I asked Draco, leaning in close so that he could hear above the din.

"Less well," he said into my ear. I raised an eyebrow, requesting more details. He sighed, although it wasn't audible above the noise. "They were hoping that I'd get back together with Jack."

"Oh," I said.

"There was about five minutes where they speculated that you would be cool to have around, always going on adventures and getting yourself killed and brought back to life annually. I disillusioned them of that idea, which was probably a bad idea, because you went from being pretty cool to not being at all exciting. Apparently Teddy told Quila that you are the most boring person on the planet, so she compared you to a wet spaghetti noodle," Draco continued.

"Teddy does think I'm boring," I admitted, perfectly fine with my boring life. I was tired of the excitement of my youth. Stable was good.

"They didn't really care about you or me being with you. They don't get what my happiness has to do with me not getting back together with Jack. They'd rather have him and Danny back, although they did concede that it wouldn't be so bad to have you around, on the condition that you bring Teddy with you. Apparently Teddy is the personality of your little duo," Draco finished.

"I can bring Teddy with me; not a problem," I said, not arguing about Teddy being the most interesting thing about me these days. I used to be cool, but now I was a boring adult with a boring desk job. Every once and a while I did something Teddy could brag to his friends about, but I tried not to, because I needed to stay alive for him.

"Good. Let's eat. Dinner time! Everyone find a seat!" Draco called out, getting the children's attention.

Teddy sat in between Aquila and Cepheus at the other end of the table. Equuleus sat next to Draco in her highchair, getting about as much food on the floor as she did in her mouth, and even more of it on her face. Draco and I chatted amicably during the meal. He frequently paused to check on the baby, helping her locate bits of food to eat not yet on the floor, while I tried to listen in on the conversation the children were having.

"Are you moving in?" I heard Aquila ask.

"Nope, Harry didn't say that," Teddy answered.

"Be cool though," Cepheus replied.

"Yeah, so cool!" Teddy seconded.

Later I heard Cepheus ask Teddy, "Does your daddy have other boyfriends? Ours does." He was obviously referring to Jack, unaccepting of the breakup. I looked over at Draco then and was grateful that he was preoccupied with Equuleus and a pea that she'd gotten up her nose; he hadn't heard.

"Nope. Just your daddy," Teddy answered, not at all bothered by the prospect of Draco having another boyfriend.

There was a loud scream from Equuleus that interrupted the other children's conversation and my eaves dropping. Apparently the baby didn't like the pea extraction process.

"Well put it in your mouth and not up your nose next time!" Draco chastised over the toddler's screams. "Sorry about this Harry, Teddy. I swear it's a conspiracy to get me to stop putting vegetables on her plate; it's never the meat she shoves up there."

I tried to stifle my laugh and hide my amusement behind my napkin. "Do all Malfoy children go through this stage?"

"As a matter of fact, no. Cepheus put the peas in his mouth and Aquila just threw them on the floor-" Draco started to say.

"Where they belong!" Aquila interrupted.

"Each child is different," Draco finished.

"I like peas," Cepheus said, spooning up a few and eating them to demonstrate his point.

"Boys," Aquila said exasperated. This seemed to be her standard response to everything her brother did that she disagreed with.

"Hey! I hate peas too!" Teddy protested.

Aquila smiled and nodded approvingly. Cepheus just shrugged, outnumbered.

"Last time Harry had a boyfriend, he came with us to Sundays at the Weasleys. Are you all coming this Sunday?" Teddy asked.

"No, we visit Mummy on Sunday," Aquila answered.

"Yeah, Mummy on Sundays; biscuits this week," Cepheus added.

Teddy groaned. "She's like Harry; she serves biscuits for dinner," he said, like it was a bad thing.

"No, no, not for dinner! For snack!" Cepheus corrected.

"Yeah, Mummy makes this real awful stuff she _calls_ food for dinner, but it's not real food. It's not made by elves like proper food," Aquila added.

"Fake food. Equuleus puts it _all_ up her nose!" Cepheus exclaimed, causing a laugh from everyone around the table, including the baby.

"My wife is not skilled in the culinary arts," Draco informed me as the laughter died down. "I tried offering her an elf, but she doesn't always use it."

"She makes good biscuits though," Cepheus put it and Aquila agreed. Equuleus let out a happy squeal, possibly indicating that she also agreed.

"Gran and Molly make food without elves and it tastes good," Teddy retorted.

"Really?" Aquila asked.

"Not uh," Cepheus protested.

"Yeah, they do," Teddy insisted.

"It is possible, but don't get your hopes up that Mummy will ever make anything edible," Draco interjected.

"Is your mummy your daddy's boyfriend?" Teddy asked, clearly confused by the situation.

"No," Aquila answered.

"Not uh," Cepheus chimed in.

"She's just a mummy. She has her own…" Aquila started to explain, but got caught up on a word she was unable to say, clearly Tongue-Tied.

"Life," Draco supplied a more appropriate word and his children nodded.

"How's that work?" Teddy asked.

"Mummy lives at her house and we live here with Father," Cepheus answered.

"We visit Mummy on Sundays. Some days she lets us stay home all day and do nothing!" Aquila exclaimed, like this was a treat.

Teddy harrumphed, unimpressed. "Harry does nothing _every_ day."

Draco chuckled at that. "How's it feel to be called out by an eight-year-old?" he asked me.

"Amusing," I answered.

"Even on Saturdays?" Aquila asked amazed.

Teddy nodded. "All the time."

"No way!' Cepheus protested.

"It's true; sometimes we sit around on Saturdays and do nothing," I confirmed.

"You don't have a party?" Cepheus asked.

"Or go to one?" Aquila asked.

"Pa-ty?" Equuleus joined in.

"Sometimes we go to your parties. But sometimes we don't go to any parties at all," Teddy admitted in a tone meant to scar or horrify.

"Cool!" Aquila exclaimed.

"Wow!" Cepheus seconded.

"Does this mean you two no longer think Harry is the lamest wizards on the surface of the Earth?" Draco asked his children.

"No!" Equuleus shouted out, bits of corn flying from her mouth and spraying her tray. She immediately reached out in attempt to pick the kernels of corn back up.

Cepheus and Aquila looked at each other and both shrugged in unison.

"I'll take it," I said cheerfully.

"Alright, it's almost time to get going, so finish up and then go wash up," Draco announced.

And as quickly as that, our first joined family dinner with all the kids was over. I thought it went rather well.

* * *

When I first told Ron that Draco was my boyfriend, there was disbelief. Sure he knew about my Sunday evening get-together with Draco, but he'd been in denial, telling himself we were just two gay pals sharing drinks. That I was romantically attracted to Draco came as a shock. I think the fact that he was a straight man clouded his vision and left him blind to how good looking Draco was. Hermione and Ginny didn't suffer from the same defect and promptly backed me up on what a fine specimen Draco was. Ron had rolled his eyes at that, but begun to understand.

Then one day in the privacy of our office at work, I revealed the one fact that made Ron understand: sex with Draco Malfoy was like fucking a sex-god. He didn't want to hear the details, but Ron was a man and he did like to hear about good sex. He even understood the desire to be in a relationship for no other reason than that the sex was good; after all, he'd dated Lavender Brown for similar reasons, even if they hadn't gone all the way. After that Ron got it in his head that my relationship with Draco was purely about the sex and he was okay with that. It wasn't, but I was content with letting my best friend have his delusions as long as it meant he was cool with my new boyfriend.

So Ron now accepted that Draco and I were a thing and knowing that his actions affected my getting laid, he was on his best behavior around Draco. The two weren't friends, but now when they saw each other in Dance class or at the YPGB meetings, they exchanged fake pleasantries and tried to make nice for my sake. I had hope that one day they would be able to put the past behind them, like Draco and I had done. But for now, I was pleased with the attempt they were making.

Hermione was several steps ahead of Ron and had already forgiven Draco. They didn't see each other often, but she was the one who took Rose to all of the Saturday parties and from that she realized that Draco had changed. He was on board with her plans for a new and better Wizarding Society and was actively working to implement the changes in the Pureblood world, which was naturally the toughest segment of the wizarding population to change. She was impressed when she learned from me about his efforts to modernize the Council of Elders and was all for it. They had always had a lot in common and now that they didn't have the prejudice forcing hatred between them, they had mutual respect for each other and were quickly becoming friends.

* * *

It was bound to happen eventually and happen it did. Rumors about how chummy Draco and I had gotten started to fly and people began to mill around outside the dance studio while our children were in class. One witch brought a camera and took a photo of us, although it was blurry and no one knew what we were discussing, thanks to the protection charms we'd put up. But then there was another photo taken before the wards went up, of him walking out of the lobby with Equuleus in his arms and me following shortly behind. That second shot made the front page of the Prophet.

I was cornered at work by reporters and asked for a statement regarding my relationship with Draco. Bearing in mind Draco's previous request, I told the following lie, "Draco Malfoy remains an insufferable git. He's an old-fashioned conservative, stuck eons in the past. It's wizards like him who give a bad name to Wizard-Kind. But, our children are attending several of the same classes and we've spoken a few times in an attempt to work past our difference. I regret to inform you that those differences remain firmly intact and sometimes he still makes me want to punch him. However, we are trying to remain cordial, for our children's sakes."

It seemed our hour together on Wednesdays was no longer simple or guaranteed. Draco refused to leave the immediate area, despite how quickly we could travel with magic, due to concern for his older two children; if something happened, he needed to be close at hand. Despite the fact that Teddy was also attending the class there, I didn't have the same apprehension, because Ron was in the next room over with Rose. I fully trusted Ron to handle things in the event of an emergency. Draco did not and that led to the first disagreement of our relationship. It was hard to lose that hour to ourselves on Wednesday, but I couldn't fault him for his devotion to his children.

* * *

Author's Note: Not a particularly interesting chapter, but needed to move the relationship forward. I think next will be them bringing their friends together and their reactions to the relationship. Once that is all out of the way, we can get to the fun stuff. Please Review!


	11. Chapter 11

Author's Note: The following chapter contains a sex scene that has been censored. If you would like to read the full version of it, you can do so at AO3.

* * *

I'd told all of my closest friends about my relationship with Draco and some of them I didn't even Tongue-tie. At Draco's suggestion we both invited all our friend for a Sunday evening party at the Manor. It was sort of like jumping into the deep end with both feet, having the advantage of getting it over with quickly. We had hope that our friends were adult enough now that they could put the war behind them and be cordial, but if not, we preferred to know who couldn't be invited to the same events. It was starting off well, because none of our friends had refused the come. The only one who wasn't coming was Ginny, and that was because she was out of the country playing Quidditch.

I supervised setting up the ballroom for the party, because Draco spent the morning on a floo call with one of his American suppliers. Now that we were dating, I was beginning to see more of his business side. Between his business dealings and his Counsel meetings, he juggled an impressive schedule, and even spent his evenings reading reports. He made time for me every Sunday, but because I usually spent Sunday mornings over at the Burrow, he usually spent the morning handling business. It made up for the time during the week that he took from his business to spend with me.

Draco and I stood in the rear entry of Malfoy Manor, greeting our guests as they arrived. I introduced him to all of my friends and he did the same with his, even though we already knew everyone. These formal introductions were a fresh start; a chance to start over, wipe the slate clean, and forget about the past.

"Harry, you Tongue-tied the Longbottoms, I hope," Draco said to me as we greeted Neville and his wife Hannah.

"Yes, absolutely," I replied. It wasn't that Neville wasn't a good, trustworthy friend, because he was. The problem was that he was also a blabbermouth with the tendency to let secrets slip.

"Both of them?" Draco asked.

"Yes, Neville and Hannah too," I reassured.

"Perfect," Draco said as the fire roared to life and Luna materialized in the fireplace. She stepped through looking her usual frazzled self, wearing orange dirigible plum earrings and a necklace of used wine corks half stained from red wine. As she wiped the soot from her wrinkled robes, Draco leaned in to my ear and whispered. "Lovegood, as well?"

"No, no, Luna can keep a secret. She's fine," I reassured.

Luna stepped forward then, her hand outstretched. We exchanged greetings and reintroductions. She was headed towards the drink table in the ballroom when under his breath, Draco said, "I really would prefer to bind her."

Luna turned back, having heard what she wasn't meant to. "Oh, I really don't mind Harry. Being Lip-Locked is really quite fun," she said cheerfully.

"It's not necessary. Luna is one of those people who no one can get things out of unless she wants them to," I said.

"I don't mind, really," Luna reassured.

"And I would sleep better at night if it were done. Her father does still run that interesting publication of his," Draco replied.

"Do you read the Quibbler then?" Luna asked pleasantly.

"On occasion. I do not regularly have the time, but every now and then, I read a snippet," Draco answered.

"Wonderful! I'll have my father send over a free copy of our latest edition," Luna concluded in a manner that would have been befitting if Draco had just admitted to being an avid fan of the publication. "Now how about we get the spell over with before the next guests arrive?"  
I still didn't think it was necessary, but since Luna was willing, there was no harm in indulging Draco in the matter. He cast the spell and she went on her way to join the growing crowd.

It was a simple adult get together, despite being located in the ballroom for space. The elves had produced a large square sectional so that we could all lounge together and enjoy the conversation. Tables were set up on the side of the room, one filled with every type of drink in the Wizarding world, alcoholic and non-alcoholic alike, and the other table contained snacks.

After the introductions, we lounged on the sofas and snacked while making polite conversation.

"And what has the happy couple been up to lately?" Draco asked Neville and Hannah. "I heard about your marriage a few years back."

"We have a daughter! Alice," Neville blurted out nervously. It didn't seem to matter that he was a war hero who had helped defeat Voldemort; he was still our nervous Neville, only a little bit bolder. His boldness, however, always brought out his anxiety, making it awkward.

"Wonderful! Congratulations! I have two daughters myself, so I know firsthand how wonderful it is. They bring joy to my life every day," Draco replied.

"Our little Alice is like a ray of sunshine," Hannah confirmed. "She's fifteen months now. How old are yours?"

"My oldest is six, my youngest is twenty-three months, and my son is four, almost five," Draco answered. He had a pair of upcoming birthday parties to plan.

"Alice and Equuleus will be in the same year in Hogwarts then," I observed. Alice was a summer baby, born in late August, just before the cutoff date.

"How wonderful. Maybe we could get the two of them together some time," Hannah replied.

"We have a busy schedule, but perhaps you'd like to bring her to one of our Saturday parties? I invite the children and parents from Equuleus' Parent and Me classes. I do the same for Cepheus and Aquila, so it's always a full house. You are welcome to come with your precious Alice," Draco offered cordially.

Hannah and Draco then entered into a discussion regarding the various Parent and Me classes Equuleus was currently taking and the Tiny-tot classes she'd be taking next quarter, since she was being moved up for her birthday. Hannah hadn't been aware that there were so many choices or that they were offered at such convenient times. She was interested in signing Alice up for one or more of the activities; she and Neville just had to decide which one. Draco promised to owl over the information for each class.

When Neville went to fetch more food, Hannah excused herself to the loo, freeing the space next to me. Ron flopped down, leaving the space between us for Hermione, who followed after.

"What I am curious about, Draco, is how you manage it all," Hermione started up the conversation. "Three children, a seat on the Council of Elders, and taking care of the Malfoy finances? I can barely manage my Ministry job and two children and I have Ron to help me."

"He spent the morning on a floo call working out some contract," I added.

"Maine lobsters. I've negotiated an import deal; we'll have them in all the finest restaurants as soon as the lawyers approve the contract," Draco confirmed.

"Didn't the invite say there was gonna be lobster?" Ron asked, ever ruled by his stomach.

"Yes, the elves are cooking them now; a sample my partners sent over to demonstrate the level of quality of their product. Being the boss has its benefits," Draco answered.

"I still don't know how you could possibly find the time," Hermione insisted.

"My mother and I share responsibilities. But yes, it is a struggle to balance my time. One aspect of that is that when I'm at work, it's all work; I'm focused. When I'm relaxing, spending time with my children, my family, or my friends, I don't discuss my work and especially not politics," Draco replied.

"So you compartmentalize?" Hermione concluded.

"Yes," Draco said.

"Does he ever? From dinner time to bath time, he refuses to talk about business or politics at all. Merlin forbid important news develops in the evening, because the children will be in bed before he even considers responding to a major political crisis," Pansy put in depreciatively.

"I will pull out business after bath time, just not politics," Draco added.

Something about what Draco said didn't quite fit with my experience with him. "But what about the other day when Equuleus wasn't feeling well?" I asked. "You were juggling her and writing important letters….er, about something." Most days he said he was too busy during lunch to meet with me, because he usually ate while reading briefs or reports or something. But the day Equuleus was ill, he'd invited me over for lunch. When I got there, he was sitting on a sofa with the baby napping next to him, while he had a tray pulled up and was writing. The two were not compartmentalized that day.

"Well," Draco started, rubbing the back of his neck, "I do let the children interrupt the work part of my day. They come first, so when my baby wasn't feeling well, I cuddled her while going over reports. I took a lite day and invited you, Harry, over for lunch. After lunch my mother and I switched: she took Equuleus and I went to my meetings. But I really don't like to talk all this business at a party. If you'd like to tell me about your work, then I'd be open to it, but I need a break from mine."

"Fair enough," Hermione conceded.

"The children are still fair game though; we all know how much our Draco _loves_ talking about his little ones," Pansy said.

"I do. They're the best part of my life. I swear, they are the best thing I've ever done in my entire life and I imagine that won't ever change," Draco replied.

"So how do you manage the children side? We only have one, but Alice is a real hand full," Neville piped up, returning with his plate of food. His seat was taken, so he stood.

"It might help your understanding to know that my children are in tutoring during the day, leaving me free to work on matters of business and politics then. I get them back just before dinner and then take them to their classes. When we get home, I do the baths, and then they have a bit of quiet playtime until bed; that's when I read. Having a schedule helps," Draco explained.

"But your baby is too young for tutoring; she's not much older than our Alice," Neville said.

"Equuleus has a preschool group that she attends. A group of us got together and pay for a preschool teacher and assistant for our five children. There are Padma and Zacharias Smith's twin boys, Daphne and Theo's daughter, and the Avery heir," Draco answered.

"All will be in the same class in school, so we've agreed to joint preschool classes for three years," Daphne added, from her spot on Draco's side of the soda. "Neville, if you and Hannah are interested, we could use another little girl in the group to balance it out."

"Just one child though; we have agreed on a hard limit of six children in the group," Draco clarified.

Neville said he would tell his wife and that they would think about it. On the plus side the children of a Ravenclaw and a Hufflepuff were in the group, but on the minus, the other three children belonged to Slytherins and the Avery family had been avid supporters of Voldemort. I figured he wasn't sure these were the type of people he wanted his first born growing up with.

"Personally, I'm surprised Malfoy has so many kids. I mean, not only is the bloke a single dad, but he has three offspring, instead of the one typical of the Malfoys," Ron commented to me, doing his best to make polite conversation.

"First of all, I am _not_ a single father. I am married, quite happily mind you," Draco clarified.

"In his own unique way," Pansy amended from her seat on one of the other nearby sofas. "Obviously it's not your typical marriage and never has been."

"I was much more surprised by the choice in wife. Daphne, didn't your little sister have quite the crush on him and practically offer herself up to him?" Theo asked his wife, who he was sitting next to.

"Oh yes. Astoria would have done anything to be Mrs. Draco Malfoy," Daphne confirmed.

"I did not feel up to despoiling such an innocent," Draco explained with a shrug, giving the impression that Astoria had wanted a real marriage from him, not the arranged sharing of children he had with his chosen wife. "Besides, she was still in Hogwarts and I didn't feel like waiting."

"Yes, that would be the other reason our Draco rushed into having three children," Pansy added.

"What's that?" Seamus asked, not understanding Pansy's meaning. Seamus and his wife were sitting with Dean and Dean's girlfriend on the sofa opposite the Slytherins.

"I found myself the only remaining Malfoy. Since I did not like it, I decided to do something about it," Draco explained.

"Yes, but three? One, I expected. Two, I get. But three?" Ron asked perplexed.

"Four actually. Or it was meant to be four; I tried to adopt a war orphan but that did not work out as planned," Draco clarified.

Hermione was intrigued by that statement and wanted more information. Draco kept his responses vague and uninformative, but he did mention that he had plans for getting his war orphan back. I knew he was referring to Danny and hoped this meant that mediation with Jack was working out.

After the luscious lobster was consumed, the sun had set, and the alcohol started to loosen our inhibitions, we had planned to play Muggle party games, like Charades. George, however, had other ideas. He announced that he'd brought his latest Weasley Wizard Whizbangs to try out. It sounded like an excellent idea to me, but Draco nixed it, saying that it was getting late and he had to pick up his children first thing in the morning. This excuse didn't exactly make sense to me, because we'd been about to start the games. I had a feeling the protest was mostly due to the stories I'd told Draco about the last time George had caught the Burrow on fire with Whizbangs and I couldn't blame him. Malfoy Manor was ancient and I wouldn't want to be responsible for it burning to the ground either.

I wasn't the least bit upset that Draco refused the fireworks. In fact, I saw it as a positive, because it very quickly led to the emptying of the Manor. The vast majority of both sets of friends followed George and Angelina Weasley back to their place to continue the Whizbang portion of the party. The one exception was Greg Goyle, who'd said all along that he'd have to leave early and stay sober, because he had to work early the next morning and was worried about getting fired. Our side of the party was cut short, but I figured the party would keep going without us. Our goal of melding our friends into one group seemed to have been achieved and there hadn't been any real conflicts, which was very good to know.

The problem with having children was that I only got laid when we had sitters for all four children, which mostly happened on Sundays. Consequently, the drawback to a Sunday party was that it ate away from our day together. To compensate, I had arranged to go into work Monday a few hours later than usual, so that I could stay up late with Draco. Now that the party had ended early, we were free to start the X-rated part of the evening. Draco and I thus made our way into his bedroom, kissing and touching as we went, for our much needed Sunday evening of sexual gratification.

Draco started to strip the moment his door was closed behind me and I followed suite. He paid more attention and care with his clothes, hanging up his robes and not just leaving them in a pile on the floor. Normally he let me mistreat my clothes, but he made a disgusted sound when he saw the lump of tonight's dress robes. He immediately went to tend to my clothes, giving them the same treatment he'd given his own.

Meanwhile, I lay on the bed, found the lube, and began preparing myself.

Draco turned from hanging our things in his wardrobe and noticed me. "No, none of that tonight. It is my turn," he said.

"Your turn for what?" I asked, fingers still moving.

"My turn to bottom. You have yet to top me and I cannot wait any longer. I want your cock," he answered, snatching the lube from me. He gracefully lay down next to me and began preparing himself.

"You don't want to top me tonight?" I asked, selfishly wanting my own sexual gratification.

"Maybe later. First you need to top me."

*Sex scene removed. Can be found on AO3

Finished, I flopped down beside him.

It was several minutes before his breathing evened out and he asked, "Did you cum? Do you need me to do you now?"

"I came. It's the first time I've ever cum inside of someone before, but you made me do it," I said, before leaning in to place a sensual kiss on his lips.

* * *

Author's Note: Next chapter the drama will start. Please review!


	12. Chapter 12

About a month later Draco came barging into my office at work. This was unusual for two reasons. One, because our relationship was still a well-guarded secret and he'd never visited me at work before. Two, because Ron and I were working the high-profile murder of a Wizenagamot member.

Ron and I rarely were lead detectives on anything these days, but every once in a blue moon Head Auror Robards reserved the right to call us into active duty when shit hit the fan. A case with this high a profile fit the bill. We hadn't been assigned lead on a case since Hugo was born, so there it was: we were up. It was a lot of work, but for these situations at least, our family rallied around us and took over a lot of our typical chores, freeing us to focus on solving the case.

Dromeda had my back with Teddy, but wasn't ever going to be capable of handling him alone, especially now that he was enrolled in three extra-curricular activities a week. Molly stepped forward and volunteered to take both Teddy and Rose to their dance classes and YPGB meetings. Seamus and Dean agreed to handle Tuesday's Quidditch practice, since Seamus had recently had his first child and Dean and his girlfriend were considering taking the plunge and getting married. If Seamus and Dean were having kids, their kids would be in Quidditch whether the kids liked it or not.

I hoped the case would be solved before the next Saturday party, but if not, Arthur had put his name in for the task of helping Hermione escort the two kids. Arthur's ulterior motives included snooping around Malfoy Manor to see if Lucius left a hidden stash of dark objects anywhere.

Neville and Luna, as always when I caught a case, would be there for the day to day help Dromeda needed with Teddy, like getting Teddy to school in the morning and in the bath at night. And Dromeda's best friend Lacy would be coming over during the day to help Dromeda with her own needs.

Teddy and Dromeda were covered, leaving just my relationship with Draco. I'd explained to him that I would be super busy working this case and therefore wouldn't be available for much until it was over. Draco had said he understood at the time and was okay with receiving only a weekly owl or two and occasional short visits. I was only six days into the case, and thus not at all expecting Draco to show up at my work to see me. So far I'd only missed Teddy's three classes and not one of our Sunday evening dates until tonight, meaning that there was no reason for him to be missing me so much as to turn up at my place of work while I was trying to solve one of the Ministry's biggest murder cases of the year. And this couldn't possibly be a misunderstanding, because I'd been quite clear about my need to work even on Sundays when it was something as urgent as this case.

"Harry, he's taken the children! You have to help me!" Draco announced frantically as he barged into my office.

It took me a moment to change gears from my initial assumptions that this was regarding the fact that I'd be missing our regular Sunday date later tonight, to the actual reason behind the impromptu visit. "Who's taken them? Where?" I asked.

"Jack! I had the elves track them down, but Dinky said they're in Romania! They're too far away for Dinky to bring them home. I need to get Dinky and me to Romania and then he can bring them to me or me to them," Draco explained. "But I've never been. Can you help me get there?"

"How did Jack get them?" I asked, wondering if a crime had been committed.

"Kidnapped them from Camella's home in Switzerland! I just received the Fire-Call. She wasn't watching them closely enough and she didn't have her wards set against him like I do. I should have had a professional over to her house to adjust the wards…this is all my fault," he rambled on.

"So he popped up at your wife's house and just took the kids?" I asked.

"Yes. She left them playing alone in the drawing room, even the baby. He was in and out with them in less than a minute. She didn't even know he'd come until she went to check on them and they were gone. All there was, was a note."

"Alright, did Camella report this to the Swiss Aurors?"

"No, no, she wouldn't. Not Jack, that's why she Fire-Called me."

"So the first thing we need to do then, is to file a report," I concluded, wrapping an arm around his shoulder as I began to lead him towards the door with the aim of reaching the desk of an Auror that could handle a kidnapping report for me.

"No! No reports. I just need to get them back," Draco proclaimed, pushing my arm away and refusing to be led.

"They've been kidnapped. You have to file a report, Draco," I insisted.

"They've been taken by Jack. I can't have that get out," he said stubbornly.

"Your children's safety is more important than that. They have to come first."

"They aren't in any danger! They're with Jack. He may be a philandering cheat, but he was always good with them. He's probably taken them for the day and plans on returning them in time for bed."

"Like a forced visitation?" I asked.

"Yes, exactly.

"I take it mediation hasn't been going well."

"On the contrary, it went splendidly for me. I called him several inventive insults and told him to fuck off and leave my children alone. Problem effectively mediated," he answered seriously.

I didn't know whether to cry or laugh at this revelation. It was just so exasperatingly Draco bloody Malfoy. "What happened to him threatening to go public?"

"I called his bluff: he wouldn't do that to Cepheus and he'd be ostracized too."

"So you left him no choice but to kidnap the kids if he wanted to see them?" I asked.

"No, I did mention that he wasn't worthy of the air he was breathing and that it would be better for all involved if he stopped that. I still think that would be a valid alternative to kidnap."

I closed my eyes, took a big breath, and regrouped. I had evidence to process, leads to follow up on, and a murder to solve. This couldn't be happening at a worse possible time. "I don't think that solution appealed to him for some reason. What about Danny? I thought you said you were going to get him back?"

"I am going to get him back: as soon as he goes off to Hogwarts, I will take my late-father's position on the Board of Governors of the school. Then I will be allowed access to him during the school year. When he returns home for the summer, I will ensure he has a broom and knows how to sneak out to see me. He will be twelve then; that's old enough to come over on his own."

"Right. Well, if you are sure the kids are safe and aren't willing to file a report, then I don't have any official channels to go through to help you," I said, disappointed in him. I'd hoped he would be more mature about this than sneaking visitation with Danny behind Jack's back. "And on a personal level, I don't think I would be helping the situation if I interfere with the dispute going on between you and your ex. Unless you are ready to agree to granting Jack visitation, that is."

"You are my boyfriend. You're supposed to be on my side, not Jack's."

"Normally I am on your side, but you are being unreasonable on this issue and I'm busy. I told Ron I'd handle some things this morning and get back to him. He's out doing interviews and we need the analysis back so that we know what questions to ask."

"Fine, I'll find a way to Romania myself," Draco announced.

"What about your business? What about the Counsel?" I asked.

"My mother is handling the Counsel and she'll inform my business partners of my need for some personal time. I can't believe you'd think that I'd put any of that before my children," he said, before storming off.

It wasn't what I wanted and I feared this would be the end of our relationship, but I didn't have time for my personal life today. Draco could handle his ex forcing visitation on him by himself, since he'd created the situation in the first place. Thus I forced the issue from my mind and went back to work on my case.

All day I found my mind wandering away from my murder case and back to Draco's case. Had Draco found a way to Romania? Had he gotten his kids back? Had Jack returned the kids on his own before Draco got there? Or had they gotten into another one of their screaming confrontations? I forced myself to work the murder, but when I couldn't concentrate and needed a break, I spent that break checking up on Draco.

There were many ways a wizard could get to Romania. Apparition was out, because Draco had never been. Someone else taking him by side along apparition was unlikely, because he wasn't going alone, requiring a house elf to travel with him. Muggle methods like trains, planes, and cars were all possible, but they were all too slow. Floo was a possibility, but there was not a straight-through floo connection between England and France, let alone between England and Romania. Therefore a floo journey would require several quick trips through the fireplace, with many interruptions involving travel by a slower method, most likely Muggle. That left just one logical mode of transportation: Portkey.

Since the Office for International Portkeys happened to be located in the Ministry, it only took me a few minutes to walk there from Auror Headquarters. I recognized Robert, the wizard on duty, from a case Ron and I had worked a few years back in which a wizard had arranged a get-away Portkey in advance of committing the robbery of a Muggle bank. Robert had helped us trace the destination of the Portkey and catch the robber.

"Hey Robert!" I greeted.

"Auror Potter! What can I do for you today?" Robert asked jovially.

"I need to find out if Draco Malfoy arranged a Portkey to Romania. Can you help me out?" I asked.

"Of course." Then Robert leaned in closer to me, despite the fact that there was no one else present in the office at the moment, and asked, "What has the git done this time?"

"This is all top secret. You can't tell anyone," I warned.

"You know me, Auror Potter; I can keep a secret," Robert promised. I believed him, but that didn't mean I was willing to tell him more than the absolute minimum necessary to get him to help me.

"He refused to file a crime report. He wants to handle it on his own, because it's an old friend who's done it," I answered.

"And he can't just let it go, if it's an old friend? I'd imagine a lot of his old friends are hard up for money these days with the way their side lost the war."

"What was stolen is not of monetary value, but personal and irreplaceable. He seems to believe that the guilty party will give back what was taken, if he can just find the bloke. His elf said the bloke is in Romania, so I need to know if Draco made it alright," I explained.

"I thought it was odd to take a house elf along with him on an international Portkey. Chalked it up to Malfoy being one of them eccentric Purebloods, I did."

"So Draco Malfoy and an elf did indeed take a Portkey to Romania today?" I asked, wanting to be crystal clear on this matter.

"Yep, sure did. Paid extra for immediate service and all. Sent him to the Romanian Ministry for Magic, I did; it was the fastest destination within Romania to arrange a Portkey to," Robert answered.

"Thanks mate. One last question."

"Anything for our Savior."

I cringed at the reminder; save the world once years ago and still haven't lived it down. "What time did he leave?" I asked.

Robert informed me that Draco and the elf left the country just half an hour after Draco had left my office. That news was as good as I could've hoped for, because it meant Draco hadn't been delayed in getting to Romania by my refusal to help. I couldn't have gotten him there faster if I had helped. With any luck, he'd already be reunited with his children and I would have nothing to feel guilty over.

Conscious eased, I thanked Robert again and went back to work on the murder case.

* * *

Author's Note: And so it begins. Please review!


	13. Chapter 13

I didn't hear from Draco again until the next morning, when an owl arrived with the following note.

 _Harry-_

 _I made it to Romania and Dinky brought me to the dragon reserve where Jack took the children. They already left, but both Camella and my mother said the kids haven't been returned home. I asked around and a bus driver told me they were headed to Nepal. I talked to one of the handlers here and he said that there is another dragon reserve in Nepal and he thinks it is likely Jack is headed there. I'm setting out now and will let you know what happens._

 _-Love Draco_

When Draco said the children weren't in danger and that Jack would almost certainly bring them home in time for bed, I'd taken his word for it. The fact that Jack had decided to extend his visitation and had moved the children to yet another country out of Draco's reach to do so, was worrying. This was turning from a simple dispute over visitation rights, or lack thereof, into a serious kidnapping. I thus owled the following note.

 _Draco-_

 _This kidnapping has gotten serious. You need to report it to the local authorities and get help. There is no telling how long he could decide to keep your kids; he could prolong his visitation indefinitely if you don't let the authorities help you stop him. Unless Jack has told you how long he plans to keep them, then you need to assume the worst and report this already._

 _-Love Harry._

Monday afternoon I received word that Draco was Fire-Calling me at one of the Auror Department's private fireplaces. I was in the field interviewing witnesses at the time, but Ron was aware of the situation and told me to go ahead and take the call, while he kept at it. Thus I apparated back to Headquarters and found the correct fireplace with Draco's disembodied head.

"What's going on? Did you find them?" I asked.

"No, I made it to the Nepalese dragon reserve, but they haven't seen the children. I asked around with the local transportation, and I found someone who recognized them. Said they went higher into the Himalayas. Dinky is having trouble locating them at this altitude. House elves cannot function well this high up. I'm going to have to send Dinky home and go it alone from here out," he answered.

"Did you report it?"

"No," he started to answer, but I cut him off.

"This is serious Draco! Jack's clearly not just visiting with the children. He's deliberately moving as far from your reach as possible. First he took them to a dragon reserve in a country you've never been to, and now he's taking them mountain climbing in a region your elves cannot track the kids in? And Equuleus isn't even two yet; taking her mountain climbing is dangerous! What if he decides to hide out with them in a cave and keep them forever?" I asked.

Draco's face fell as I said this. He'd clearly had similar thoughts himself and had been keeping them at bay by focusing on the situation. Now he broke down, crying and sobbing through the fire. "I can't report it, because there is no Ministry in Nepal! There's no one to help me here!" he exclaimed through his sobs.

It was true that there was no Ministry in Nepal, which meant it was unlikely to get Magical Law Enforcement or an Auror officially on the case. But, Draco and the children were British citizens, so if he'd come back here, he could file the report with us. I considered asking him to do so now, but brushed the idea aside; backtracking would only slow him down and delay the return of his children.

"What about your wife? Can you Fire-Call her and ask her to file a report with the Swiss Ministry for Magic?" I asked.

"I asked her before I called you. She should be at the Swiss Ministry by now," Draco replied. "Oh Salazar, he's taken my children and I've no way to find them!"

If this was any other time when I wasn't working a serious homicide, I would've dropped everything by now and been on my way to help him. As it was, I still wanted to drop everything to help, but first I'd have to get myself taken off of the most high-profile murder case of the year. "Where will you be tonight? In a few hours at least? I have to get clearance and find someone to take over my half of the case before I go," I said.

Draco then proceeded to tell me about the path Jack and the children had likely taken. There was a remote wizarding hotel up in the mountains and it looked as likely a place to stop for the night as any. It was probable that Jack had stopped there with the children and Draco would try to get there by tonight. It would be easier to reach if the hotel had a floo connection, of course, but it didn't. If I was familiar with the area, I could apparate in, but I wasn't. The only solution was thus to take a portkey into the mountains and travel by broom the rest of the way. Arranging an international portkey took time, even for a famous Auror like me, meaning that in all likelihood I wouldn't be able to join Draco until late tonight.

If only I'd helped Draco out when Jack had the kids at the dragon reserve in Romania… Having been before, I could've apparated us there and gotten the kids back then and there. But now we were at least a day behind and Jack was traveling into ever more dangerous country with four children aged ten and younger, Equuleus not quite two.

* * *

I met up with Draco in the lobby of the wizarding hotel. He had his broom in hand and his knapsack on his back, ready to go in his thick winter cloak.

"Harry! Thank Merlin you're here! I already talked to the staff. They are a day ahead of us. If we fly all night, we might be able to catch up to them before they set out in the morning," Draco said, by way of greeting.

"Do you know where they've stopped for the night then?" I asked.

"No, this is the last hotel, so there's no obvious choice, but there aren't that many possible campsites. We will have to check them all."

"In this weather? Draco, I don't think you've thought this through. It's pouring rain and we are up in the mountains. It's cold already and only going to get colder during the night. If we fly through this storm on our brooms, we could freeze to death."

"I _have_ thought this through, that's why I know we have to leave now. The storm is predicted to get worse. They are saying it might turn into an all-out blizzard come tomorrow. _My_ children could be trapped up in the mountains and freeze to death and _no one_ will be able to reach them," Draco countered.

"Does Jack know about this storm? Is he prepared for that?" I asked, growing increasingly concerned.

"No, the locals say the sky was clear earlier when they left. He wouldn't have known it was coming," Draco answered, a tone of urgency in his voice.

"Where is the weather prediction coming from? How accurate is it?" Wizards were not known for their ability to predict the weather, their forecasts being even more shoddy than Muggle ones.

"Local wizards; they say they can read the skies," Draco replied.

I groaned, knowing that this level of prediction was extremely unreliable. Some wizards really were experts at reading the skies and produced fairly spot-on forecasts. Others did not and I did not know which of the two these locals were. The storm might turn into a blizzard tomorrow, or it might be sunny.

"Look, I need more information before we go. If there is going to be a storm, we need to be prepared. What if we find them and are then trapped out in the mountains for a week? Do you have supplies for that?" I asked.

"No…I figured we would apparate to safety as soon as we find them."

"With four young children and only two adults? And what if they are in a No-Apparition Zone?"

No-Apparition Zones were regions where it was either not safe to apparate in or out of, due to the topology of the landscape causing a weakened Magical Field, or where ancient wizards had warded against apparition, like Hogwarts. I was not familiar with Nepal, but I was aware that ancient wizarding villages tended to be situated in remote locations, to avoid Muggle discovery. The Himalayan Mountains were the prefect locale to hide a village and such villages tended to have anti-apparition wards surrounding them. But more likely were the mountain ranges themselves, because extreme altitudes were known disrupters of Magical Fields, which was a large part of why the house elf had had to leave; house elves, being magical creatures, needed a constant supply of magic to live. That and elves did poorly in the thin atmosphere associated with higher elevations.

Draco had to admit that there was a good chance that we would not be able to apparate the children to safety. He thus agreed to go in search of someone who would be willing to sell him enough supplies for seven people to weather a blizzard for a week. Meanwhile, I went after an accurate weather report from Muggle sources. I had to apparate back to the Muggle village I'd passed on the way in, but I did acquire a much more detailed weather report, made with the latest Muggle weather satellite technology.

I apparated back to the hotel and found Draco in the supply shop next door, which Draco had convinced the owner to open up just for him, despite the late hour.

"It isn't going to start snowing until tomorrow night. It's meant to last anywhere from one to four days. Tonight is freezing rain and hail all night and temperatures right around zero. But it will warm up in the morning and there will be a break in the rain. We will have six solid hours of daylight to find the kids before the storm comes back around to us," I told Draco.

"And they will have six hours to move further into the mountains too," Draco protested.

"Would Jack do that though? You said you trusted him with the kids. Surely he'll realize that the storm isn't over and stay put in a well sheltered cave or something," I countered.

"But what if he doesn't know about the coming blizzard and thinks it's over?"

"Then owl him. Make sure he knows how dangerous it will be."

"Then he'll know we're on his trail."

"Draco, you are going to have to trust that this bloke isn't completely mental and will put the welfare of the children above his desire for visitation. Merlin, this is getting serious! Equuleus won't survive a storm like the one coming if they're exposed to the elements. Owl him and offer a deal already: visitation in return for keeping the kids safe," I argued.

Draco sighed, but nodded. "I will let him know that I am bringing supplies too, so he doesn't freak and risk coming back here."

"Good, get him to bunker down until we reach him," I reiterated.

He nodded and approached the shopkeeper, asking about the use of the store's owls.

It was expensive, the price inflated by the chance the animal wouldn't survive the trip even though it was a local owl bred to be able to handle the bad weather of the Himalayas. Price was no object, so Draco gladly paid and began to compose his letter. At my insistence, he promised Jack regular visitation of the children, should Jack bunker down with the kids for the storm. Draco left out mention of the fact that I was with him, explaining that Jack might try to flee if he knew an Auror was involved. Technically Jack was guilty of kidnapping and if I were here in an official capacity, I would have to arrest him. I agreed that it was best to leave me out of it and Draco sent the note.

* * *

Author's Note: It's turning from bad to worse; a storm is brewing and they are once again counting on Jack to be reasonable.

Sorry for the delay in posting. My auto-immune disease has been acting up for a week now, slowing down my ability to get out quality content.

Please Review!


	14. Chapter 14

Author's Note: I'd like to thank Ern Estine 13624 for being the only one who took the time to review last chapter!

* * *

Once we completed purchasing supplies, Draco and I booked a room, where we spent several hours organizing, shrinking, and packing everything into our two knapsacks. One of the items was a very sturdy magical tent with an extra strong heating charm built in that was meant to be able to withstand the bad weather, and that tent took up a bag on its own, even when shrunk down as small as possible. That meant that all of the food, clothing, blankets, and water we were bringing, had to be forced into one knapsack. Packing was quite the process and took several hours.

By the time we were packed, it was midnight and the rain had turned into a hailstorm. The temperature had dropped to ten degrees below freezing, making this about the worst possible time to leave. Plus, we were only six short hours away from the lull in the storm predicted for the morning. Draco was still anxious about staying put and doing nothing while his children were in danger, but I refused to let him go out in this weather and forced him to take a sleeping draught. He would need to be well rested come the morning.

* * *

When we woke the next morning, there was a lite dusting of snow covering the ground and the store owl was pecking on our frosty hotel window. I jumped up and let the bird in and Draco retrieve the scroll from its leg.

"He agreed! He's bunkering down in a cave with the children. He even provided the coordinates for us!" Draco announced in a tone that was of both disbelief and gratitude.

"That's great!" I replied, hugging him.

"There is just one problem," Draco said into my ear, hugging me back.

"What's that?" I asked, pulling away from him so that I could look at his face.

"The note says they are in a region with an impaired Magical Field. He is having trouble with heating charms and apparition is definitely out," Draco revealed.

"No magic at all?" I asked, knowing that this would vastly impact our plans. The tent we were bringing was magical as were many of our supplies. Even the brooms we planned to fly in on required a certain amount of magic to function. Then there were all the charms we'd used in packing that would surely burst.

"We will have to find a Muggle village and rethink our strategy for surviving this storm," he replied.

"I know just where to go. Come on, let's get going before we waste any more of our six hour window," I concluded.

And we were off, this time to find a Muggle supply shop. We replaced the Wizarding tent with a Muggle one and purchased everything they had that might help us stay warm, from extra thick fur blankets to a propane heater. The only Muggle things we stayed away from were electrical, because if we could get Magic to work, we would, and we didn't want the Magical Field interfering with the electronic.

As for transportation, we declined the small electric four-wheeled snowmobile that was the latest thing in mountain trekking and opted to go old-school instead. We purchased a sled, the dogs to pull it, and skis. We traveled back up the mountain a bit so that we were out of sight of the Muggles and transferred our other supplies to the sled. The last preparation Draco made was to cast a lightening charm on the sled and freezing charms on our skis and the runners of the sled. When I pointed out that the charms would fail before the end of our journey, he countered with the fact that that still meant they would work part of the way, which was better than nothing.

Then we were off on sled and skis. I had some experience with skis after a certain cross country winter weather training session with the Aurors, but none with a sled. Luckily Draco was an expert with both, sighting vacations with his family in the Swiss Alps. He took charge of the sled and the dogs and I went ahead and scouted the best route. There was a bit of backtracking, which was made all the worse by the melting of ground and snow. But each time we got stuck or came across a patch without snow, it was in a region where magic was thankfully still functional. Draco waved his wand, cast a freezing charm at the ground, conjured up a few inches of snow like someone who had done this a hundred times, and then we were off again.

It definitely helped that we had the coordinates of where we were going. Between the sled, the dogs, and all of the unshrunken supplies we were bringing, searching out every possible campsite in under six hours would surely be impossible. As it was, we had a hard enough time making it the last half a mile into the location when our magic deserted us. We could feel the drain of magic as we crossed the invisible boundary into the region with the disturbance in the Magical Field. Worse, we heard the thud as the lightening charm on our cargo gave out at the same moment that the freezing charm failed on the runners supporting its weight. The lot of it suddenly crashed to the Earth and began to melt the underlying ground. We could go no further with the sled.

There was an outcropping of rocks that would offer some protection from the elements only a few yards back. Going back had the advantage that our magic worked again, but first we had to get the dogs to pull the sled out of the Magic-Dead Zone. It was physically exhausting, but eventually we managed. We tucked away as best we could the sled and the supplies we couldn't carry, adding every magical protection we could think of. There was a good chance the magic wouldn't hold through the storm, but there was also a chance it would and if we ended up being stuck up here for the maximum four days, we'd need our supplies.

We loaded up our packs and the dogs with as much as we could and then continued on foot. The first sign that we had found Jack and the children was the sound of Equuleus' crying and screaming. That sound spirited Draco into a renewed frenzy of action. He left me behind to bring in the dogs and took off in the direction of his children at top speed. I wanted to run ahead too, but the dogs needed to be unloaded, fed, and watered.

Once the dogs were squared away, I trudged into the cave, arms laden with supplies. There I found Draco soothing Equuleus, rocking her in his arms. The older children were gathered around Draco, clearly happy to see him. Jack, on the other hand, was slunk down in a corner looking harried. I got the distinct impression that this trip had turned into far more than Jack had bargained for.

* * *

Lite flurries of snow started to fall soon after we arrived. The children wanted to go outside and play, but given that our magic wasn't working and we would be trapped in this cave until the storm passed, we couldn't risk them getting cold or wet. Instead we kept everyone inside and began making preparations, like passing out blankets and building up the fire. By the time that was done, the snow was coming down thick and hard outside, the wind howling past the opening of the cave.

The dogs huddled at the mouth of the cave, napping and keeping dry. Giving off body heat, they provided a bit of a warm barrier to the cold. The children approached wanting to play, but these were work dogs who were unaccustomed to kids. The first dog seemed to ignore Cepheus, but the second snapped at Danny. We didn't know how safe these animals were, so Draco and I had to pull the children back and order them to leave the dogs alone.

We huddled around the camp fire to keep warm. The tension between Jack and Draco was so thick I could've cut it with a knife. To lighten the mood, I asked the children to tell us about their adventure with Jack.

"It was awful!" Danny effused and Cepheus and Aquila chimed in their agreements.

"I never wanna go with him again!" Cepheus added.

"Want to," Draco corrected.

"You were right, Father, Daddy's no fun at all!" Aquila seconded.

"What happened?" I asked.

"He took us to a dragon reserve and didn't even let us stay to look at the dragons!" Danny complained.

"Yeah, Quuleus cried the whole time; we didn't get to do _anything_ ," Cepheus said.

"Most boring trip ever! We had to sit on a bus for _forever_ and Quuleus wouldn't stop crying," Danny added.

"Wish I'd stayed home with Mummy," Cepheus put in.

"Well next time someone comes to take you somewhere without my permission you will remember this and know better than to go," Draco said sternly.

"Daddy didn't have your permission?" Aquila asked surprised and somewhat confused.

"No, he did not. If you were going somewhere other than to your mum's, I would have told you, wouldn't I?" Draco asked. Cepheus and Aquila murmured their agreement and Aquila shot Jack an accusatory look.

"I wanna go home," Danny whined.

"Me too. The art show is tonight," Cepheus whined. "We'll be back in time for it, right Father?"

"No, I'd say not," Draco answered.

"But it's Quidditch tonight!" Aquila exclaimed, as if missing it was blasphemy.

"Like I said, you will have that to think of next time you go with Jack," Draco replied.

"I'm _never_ going with him again!" Cepheus exclaimed, lip pouting out.

"Me neither," Aquila added.

"Me too," Danny put in, even though he technically lived with the wizard, or so I thought at the time.

Draco turned to Jack then, a gloating smile on his face. "Did you hear that over there?"

Jack lifted his defeated head up from where it had been resting on his arms and replied, "You promised. I have it in writing."

"That was before I knew you made the children hate you. I'm not going to force them to go with you, am I?" Draco retorted.

I stepped in then to forestall the coming fight before it could get going properly. "This isn't the time or the place. We'll deal with visitation once we are out of this nightmare."

"Whatever," Jack said, sinking his head back down into his arms. The next was muttered into his arms so that it was hard to make out. "I don't want to take the baby again, anyway."

Silently, but smugly, Draco turned away, back towards the children.

"Father, can I come live with you now?" Danny asked hopefully.

"Probably not; it's up to Jack," Draco replied, his expression turning sour at the reminder that legally Danny belonged to Jack and not to him.

"Well I'm not gonna go with him ever again!" Danny insisted.

"Who do you currently live with?" I asked, suddenly getting the feeling that the answer wasn't Jack.

"Aunt Janice mostly. Sometimes Grandma," Danny answered with a shrug.

"You see Harry, Danny couldn't live with _me_ , because _Jack_ wanted him to live with his _sister_ ," Draco explained, sarcasm evident in his tone.

Up until now I'd been privy mostly to Draco's selfishness in the dispute, but with this revelation it became obvious that Jack had been selfish too. "His actions don't excuse yours. You both ought to be ashamed of yourselves," I said.

"Do we really have to stay in here all day?" Aquila asked.

"Yeah, we've already been in here forever," Danny seconded and Cepheus agreed.

"Yes. What were you doing to pass the time before we arrive?" Draco asked.

"Trying to get Quuleus to stop crying," Cepheus answered with a huff.

"All of you?" Draco asked.

The three older children nodded and Aquila explained, "She _really_ hates Daddy."

"Well she doesn't know him," Draco reasoned.

"Some babies don't like strangers," I added.

"But he's Daddy!" Cepheus exclaimed, not understanding.

"Yes, but Equuleus is just a baby. She doesn't remember him," Draco explained.

"Next time we go on holiday, I don't want her going with us," Cepheus complained.

"Now that's not fair Pheus, this isn't a real holiday and Quuleus would have been fine if your mum or I were with her," Draco rebutted, but Cepheus harrumphed in response and the other two didn't seem particularly convinced either. "Listen up, because I don't want to have to say this again: this whole mess is Jack's fault and no one else's. Your sister is a baby. She didn't ask to be brought along on this nightmare of a trip. The three of you at least went willingly; Equuleus had no choice in the matter. Understand?"

A chorus of, "Yes Father," automatically erupted from the three older children.

"Aquila gave me a tattoo," Danny offered the one bit of fun they had managed to have, holding out his arm and pulling the sleeve of his parka back. It was a line drawing of an eagle made with charcoal and already smudged. It was rather excellent work for a six-year-old with only the ash from the fire pit to work with. Aquila had clearly inherited Draco's artistic talent.

Draco shot me a disapproving look, but said only, "That's nice." I knew he considered his own tattoo and the allegiance that came with it the worst mistake of his life. By the look on his face, I figured he didn't want any of the children getting tattooed, even if they were just charcoal drawings on the skin. But he didn't say anything to the children and that meant something too. Maybe he didn't think this was a good time for a lecture, given the down mood in the cave. What else had the children had to occupy themselves? Or maybe this was more of him letting his children be who they were, even if he didn't like it. If any of them grew up and got a real tattoo, I was sure he'd disapprove, but would he say so?

"It was better before," Aquila said with a frown.

"My Aquila is a bit of an artist. Soon we're going to find a way to get art back into her schedule," Draco said.

"I'm not giving up Quidditch!" she proclaimed, as if the idea was sacrilegious.

"No, of course not. Never Quidditch," Draco agreed.

"Gymnastics is getting stupid. Cheerleaders, yuck," Aquila replied.

"Most of the girls in her age group are also in the Cheerleading Squad," Draco explained to me, before turning back to his oldest daughter. "Maybe we can get you into a Monday Quidditch team next quarter…but then Gymnastics is too far away, so that won't work."

I knew the issue here was that the younger two children would still be in Gymnastic class, even if Aquila was switched to Quidditch. Art and Quidditch only mixed because the art studio was in a building adjacent to the Quidditch pitch.

"Daddy never takes me anywhere. I don't get to play Quidditch anymore or anything. No Gymnastics, no Hip-Hop, no Theater, no YPGB," Danny ranted with a pout, crossing his arms over his chest.

I hadn't realized that before the breakup Danny had been in all of the same activities as the Malfoy kids, but it did make sense. I'd seen the badges on Danny's YPGB uniform, but that was the only activity I had the impression he was ever in. The fact that Jack hadn't just upended Danny's life by taking him away from Draco, but also by taking him out of all of his classes, made the situation just that little bit worse.

"Maybe once Jack has his visitation, he'll let you take Danny to class again, Draco," I ventured.

"Really!?" Danny jumped up and ran over to Jack's corner. "Daddy, will you let me go, please? Please Daddy?"

"We'll see. If I get my visitation, he'll get his too," Jack answered.

"Yes!" Danny exclaimed.

I was happy to think that my suggestion might help restore a bit of normalcy to Danny's life. I was even thinking I might be able to do something about Aquila's Quidditch scheduling conflict. If I took her and Teddy to Quidditch for Draco, while he took the little ones to Gymnastics, then maybe Aquila could take Art class again.

"Alright, time for a game," I said, deciding a change was needed, less Jack and Draco start getting into the potentially heated topic of visitation. We would be trapped in this cave until the storm passed, so there was no point in letting a fight start up now when our wait had barely started.

* * *

Author's Note: Does anyone have any ideas on how to resolve the Jack situation, once they are back to civilization? Draco, of course, isn't going to want to press charges and instead try to hush it all up, but nor is he going to want to give Jack that visitation he promised. And now that the kids don't want to go with Jack, there is all the more reason for Draco to back out on the visitation. But that leaves us right where we started, with Jack forced to extremes and Harry in the middle. So what to do…What would be a fare compromise?

Please Review!


	15. Chapter 15

From the glares Draco kept shooting Jack, I could tell he wanted to have it out all day, but he held back on account of the children. Jack, for his part, stayed hunched over at the back of the cave the entire day, except when I asked him to help out. Jack staying out of Draco's way was definitely a good move, because it kept Draco from blowing up. Still, the argument that was lingering was palpable in the air and was not the sort of thing the children should witness. I was only glad it waited until the children were all asleep to erupt.

"You know, you almost got them killed," Draco whispered angrily to Jack late that night. "Still might."

"How was I supposed to know this storm was coming?" Jack whispered back.

"Oh I don't know, you could have maybe used the smallest amount of common sense to figure out that mountain climbing in the Himalayas in the winter with a baby isn't the best idea," Draco retorted.

"Well I wouldn't have had to go this far if you'd just let me visit them," Jack countered.

"Well now they all hate you, so there will be no need to visit you," Draco shot back.

"I have it in writing," Jack insisted.

"And I have a witness that you kidnapped them," Draco said, looking to me.

"Is it too much to ask to be left out of it?" I asked.

"Yes," Draco answered and for once, Jack agreed with him.

"What do I get for my trouble? Are you two actually going to put aside your hatred and listen to me?" I asked another.

"For the time being," Draco conceded.

"Until we get out of here," Jack seconded.

"Fine. What I think is that Draco can't go back on his word, because you promised," I told my boyfriend, before turning to the other wizard. "On the other hand, Jack, you've made the kids miserable and can't force them to visit you after this. You can have your visitation only after the kids decide they want to see you again. And it will have to be supervised after this, but there's no reason someone else, like Narcissa can't do it. If this goes public, you both have a lot to lose. Draco has his spot on the Counsel and Jack, you will be faced with time in Azkaban. You really won't be getting that visitation in prison. The only mature, rational thing to do is to compromise."

"I will if he will," Jack said instantly.

Draco took longer to answer, clearly thinking it through. When he finally spoke, it was slow and carefully. "I will let the children decide when they want to see you, Jack, if you accept that it just might be never and… _and_ you give me full custody of Danny regardless."

It was Jack's turn to think now. He stared off into space for so long that I thought he wasn't going to answer at all, but then he did. "I can live with that."

And with that it was settled. Danny would live with Draco and Jack had the possibility of visiting the children open to him. It was just up to the kids whether or not they wanted to see Jack.

We went to bed for the night then, Draco and I cuddling up with Equuleus between us on the far side of the cave from Jack.

* * *

Equuelus, having been the first to fall asleep, was the first up in the morning. Given that she was sleeping between me and Draco, she woke us up, but none of the others stirred. Draco crawled out from our makeshift pile of blankets, taking the toddler with him. I tried to turn over and go back to sleep, but it was already too late. I was awake.

I opened my eyes and in the dwindling light of the remaining coals, spotted Draco finishing up a nappy change. I groaned when the cold air hit me, as I climbed out of the blankets. My first task was to rekindle the fire, for heat, light, and cooking.

While I worked, Draco finished with Equuleus, produced a doll for her to entertain herself with, and pulled out bacon, eggs, and bread for breakfast. He placed his load next to me by the fire and began scraping the remains of last night's dinner off of our one pan, letting the scraps fall into the fire. "Please tell me I didn't agree to grant Jack visitation last night," he said as he worked.

I sighed, rather sick of being the one in the middle of this when it had nothing to do with me. "Not this again!" I whispered angrily. "This is what made Jack take them in the first place!"

"I did then," Draco concluded with a scowl. "I was afraid of that. I'd hoped it was all a bad dream."

The fire having blazed back to life, I set the billow aside and turned to glare at Draco. "Draco, why did you ever get yourself into this situation with this bloke in the first place? You're married to someone else, but you decided to play happy families with Jack? And now he kidnapped your kids to get visitation, because you wouldn't let him see them any other way," I complained, my temper finally giving after all of the aggravation of the past few days.

"I didn't know this would happen! We were in a committed, long term relationship when he and Danny moved in," Draco defended himself. "Yes, now I know he's a horrible lying scumbag, but back then I didn't. I thought he was a decent bloke."

I sighed again. "I just hope you don't let something like this happen again," I said with a sigh.

"I'd hoped that you and I wouldn't run into this type of problem."

"What?" I asked confused.

"You don't strike me as the type to run off into a dangerous situation with the children, no matter how mad you are at me. I don't think you'd ever cheat on me either, but then I didn't think Jack would and you see how wrong I was there," he continued, clearly on a different track than I was heading.

"I meant with backing Jack into doing something drastic. What are you talking about?" I asked.

Draco shrugged and said, "Oh… I assumed…never mind."

"No, what were you saying? I want to know," I insisted.

"Well it's a bit presumptuous now that I think about it."

"What is?"

He shrugged again and answered, "I just assumed that someday you, Teddy, and Aunt Andromeda would move in. I thought you were saying you didn't want this happening with us if our situation ever imploded. But I don't think we could implode like Jack and I did. That is one of the reasons I've been able to relax with you; there's really nothing to worry about, is there?"

I was a bit stunned at this revelation. Not only had he been thinking about us living together, but he also thought of us as a strong, stable couple that couldn't possibly encounter any problems. For my part I'd never anticipated any problems between us, nor did I now, but I also hadn't considered us living together. Not that I didn't want to, because now that I thought about it, I did. "What about your wife? Your marriage?" I asked.

"I've really no idea what objection you are getting at here. Are you asking me to divorce her before you will move in with me?" he asked in return, genuinely puzzled.

I gasped in surprise. "Are you asking me to move in with you?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. You don't have to right away. I understand if it's too soon. But, yes, Harry James Potter, it would please me very much if one day you would do me the honor of moving in. The Manor is plenty big, so Teddy and my aunt can both have their own rooms. You can have your own suite too, if you'd like. I just think it would be easier for us to spend time together if you are coming home to us every night. My mother and I could take some of the burden off of you by helping out with Teddy and my aunt. And well, after this, the children already know we're together. It doesn't have to be right away though. When you are ready," he rambled.

"Draco?" I asked, waiting until we established firm eye contact before giving him my answer. "Yes."

And then we were engulfed in each other's arms, kissing passionately. Our kiss was interrupted by Equuleus, who decided she wanted to worm her way in between us.

* * *

When the snow died down and the sky finally began to clear, Jack and I suited up in our parkas, gathered the dogs, and made the half a mile trek to the sled, leaving Draco behind to watch the children. Once there, I tasked Jack with freeing the sled from the snow, while I apparated back to the nearby Muggle village, where I obtained an updated weather report. We suspected that the storm had ended, but until that weather report was in hand, there was no way to know for certain and we couldn't risk taking four young children out only to be caught by a second wave of blizzard.

The storm had passed and with the weather report to prove it, I apparated back to the sled. Together Jack and I mounted the dogs and made the trek back to the cave. Draco already had the children bundled tightly against the cold and ready to go. The four children were piled onto the sled, Danny and Aquila tasked with holding onto baby Equuleus, while us three adults followed on ski.

When we crossed the boundary of the magic dead zone, Draco and I grabbed hold of two children each and apparated back to the Wizarding hotel, leaving Jack with the sled and the dogs. There was no point being out there with the kids any longer than absolutely necessary and apparition was the quickest way out. Unfortunately, the Malfoy children had almost as low an opinion of apparition as Teddy, with Equuleus and Cepheus in particular screaming their protests upon coming out the other end.

Since there was no floo at the hotel, Draco hired a car to take him and the children out of the mountains to the nearest Wizarding town, located ten miles down the mountain. From there he planned to floo the children to his wife's house in Switzerland.

I apparated back to where we'd left Jack. He'd kept going, but hadn't gone all that far and was thus still visible. I caught up and made the journey back to the Muggle village with him, where we returned the dogs, sled, and extra supplies. I said a few words to Jack to the effect that I hoped I'd never see him again, ducked into a deserted ally, and began an apparition series to the nearest Ministry for Magic. From there I arranged a portkey home, exhausted both mentally and physically.

* * *

Author's Note: Only two or so more chapters to go. Please let me know what loose end you want to see wrapped up!

I had surgery to repair my deviated septum on my nose, so I've nothing to do but sit at home and wait for your feed back :)


	16. Chapter 16

"Teddy, I have something important to tell you and I'm going to need to cast that spell that prevents you from talking about it again," I said, after sitting Teddy down in the drawing room of Grimmauld Place.

"You're not breaking up with Draco, are you?" Teddy asked, looking worried.

I was pleased by this reaction, because it meant that Teddy must like Draco. Or at least he liked the Malfoy children and the fun to be had at the Manor and didn't mind Draco. Either way, it would make things easier.

"No, nothing like that," I said, smiling.

"Alright, cast it so I can get back to playing already. I told Devon I'd come over."

Devon was a Muggle boy Teddy's age who lived a few townhouses down on our street.

I cast the charm and said, "You won't be able to play with Devon tonight. We are going over to the Manor."

"So I can play with Quila and Pheus? Yay!" Teddy jumped up and down excitedly on the sofa, the old springs creaking with the strain.

"Calm down, let me finish telling you." I reached out and caught hold of his arm, to stop him.

He did and asked, "Yeah?"

"We are going over to the Manor tonight, because things have gotten more serious between me and Draco. We are going to move in together."

"What about me and Gran?" Teddy's face scrunched up, like he was seconds away from crying.

"You're coming too. I would never leave you, you know that right? You're my little man," I said, engulfing Teddy in a fierce hug.

Teddy nodded into my hug, hugging me back. He made a snuffling sound, as his face shifted to one with more Malfoy features and with a giant smile. "I get to live in the big mansion?"

"Yes, you do. You'll have your own room in the Children's Wing, next to Aquila, Cepheus, Equuleus, and Danny. You remember that Danny moved in with them too?"

I'd given Teddy a simplified version of what had happened with the kidnapping upon our return to England. I'd turned it into a lesson never to go with strangers.

He nodded and said, "Because Danny's dad is in trouble and he can't live with him anymore."

"Yes, and he lived with Draco for many years before," I added. I didn't want Teddy feeling bad if he ended up feeling like the new kid, because he _was_ the new kid; Danny had already live with them a long time.

He nodded again and asked, "Gran?"

"Your gran is coming too. She already agreed. Your Great Aunt Narcissa had a room made up for her on the ground floor, so she won't have to do the stairs."

"Ah! But I _like_ the stair-lift!" Teddy complained.

"I know you do, but Malfoy Manor is a lot larger than Grimmauld and there are a lot of staircases. There are also a lot more kids and stair-lifts aren't toys."

"Yeah, I know, but it would still be cool if they put a stair-lift on that giant spiral staircase in the main entryway."

"That would be cool, but it's not going to happen. Cool things at the Manor are restricted to the Children's Wing."

"What about you, Harry? Where are you going to sleep?"

"I'll be sleeping in Draco's room, directly above the Children's Wing. I'll be close."

Teddy scrunched up his nose in disgust. "You aren't gonna kiss him, are you?"  
"As a matter of fact, Teddy, yes, I am going to kiss him. We're dating; I told you this," I answered and then held my breath, waiting for his response. In that moment I hoped he would accept me and Draco. If he didn't, it would make this so much harder.

"But you only do the gross stuff on your grown-up playdates, right?"

"The grossest stuff we'll keep to our room. We won't need so many playdates now that we're living together. We'll be able to play every day, just like you'll be able to play with the Malfoy kids every day. But, we will do things like kiss and hold hands outside our room. Is that alright?" I asked.

"Yeah, I guess. It's still pretty gross."

I smiled and tousled Teddy's hair. I knew it wasn't the fact that Draco and I were both men that he found gross; it was any romance. He was fond of sticking his finger in his mouth and making a gagging gesture whenever Ron and Hermione kissed in front of him, but he had yet to do it to me and Draco. But then, Draco and I always kept to a peck on the lips in front of the children, while Ron and Hermione used tongue.

"Well we need to get going, so let's change you into your fancy robes," I said, standing up.

"Are we going out to dinner?" he asked.

"No, but we're having a fancy dinner at their house."

"They don't have mansion dinners every night, do they?" Teddy asked with a scowl at the thought.

"No, just tonight. It's special, because we're moving in."

Teddy nodded and that was that. Kreacher was responsible for most of the moving, so there was just the last minute look through to make sure we had everything we'd need for the night. Half an hour later, Dromeda, Teddy, and I flooed over to Malfoy Manor.

The Malfoy children, including Danny, were running around in billowy velvet robes with lacey trim and letting out shrieks of laughter. Danny's robes were done in a more masculine style than the others, but it was still billowy and velvet and had lace at the cuffs.

Teddy looked at me asking for approval. I nodded and he took off, joining in the fun.

Cissy came forward, taking Dromeda's arm, and said, "Let us settle in the dining room. Diner will be served shortly."

Draco passed his mother and aunt on his way into the room, wearing a set of robes that hugged his body in all the right places. He came up to me, saying, "I'm glad you could make it tonight, Auror Potter." He took one of my hands in each of his, pressed our bodies against each other, and gave me a peck on the lips, which I returned.

"Tonight and every night, Lord Malfoy," I replied, gazing into his beautiful eyes. It was then that I realized the shrieks of laughter and sounds of running feet had stopped. I looked around Draco to see that all of the children, except for Equuleus, had frozen in their tracks to stare at us. "Um, you did tell your kids about us, right, Draco?"

"Yes. You told Teddy, I presume?" Draco asked me, his head turning as he eyed the shocked looks on the children's faces.

"Yes, I did," I replied.

"Well, what are you lot staring at?" Draco asked the children.

"Yuck! Kissing is gross!" Cepheus answered and the other kids echoed his sentiment.

"Well I'm glad we disgust you; that is what parents are for. Now come along to the dining room. The elves will be waiting for us," Draco replied.

Nothing more was said on the subject of kissing as we took our seats. The elves had gone all out with a fancy five-course meal worthy of an expensive restaurant.

Over dinner, we made polite conversation mostly detailing the new living arrangements.

Teddy would stay on at his regular school at least until the end of winter term, but then had his choice of whether to continue there or start being homeschooled. I was pushing for him to stay, because I didn't want him to lose his connection to the Weasley kids, who all went to the same school. He had enough emersion into the Malfoy life without switching schools too.

Danny had been switched back to homeschooling. Because the homeschooling was pooled with a number of other parents, his grade was held over at the Lestrange's place, which he flooed to every morning.

"Are you all going to class after this?" Teddy asked as dessert was served, knowing that the Malfoys had a class scheduled every night of the week. It was a deliciously sweet berry pie.

"No, not today Teddy. We need to talk about that, actually. Normally we all go to gymnastics on Mondays, but we're taking the week off, so that we can spend it as a family," Draco began. "Next week we will be back to our usual schedule. Now I know you are already in Quidditch, Dance, and the YPGB, but we also do Theater, Art, and Gymnastics. It's too late to sign you and Danny up this term, but we still need to decide what to do with you two. Danny will be going with us, just to watch. What about you, Teddy? Would you like to go with us and see what our other activities are all about?"

"I want to go to the Saturday parties!" Teddy exclaimed.

"Yes, you will have to, because you live here now. But what about the classes?" Draco asked again.

"Harry said he doesn't have time," Teddy replied.

"Well that's neither here nor there, because Harry won't be taking you, except to Quidditch. You'll be going with me and I do have time," Draco replied.

Next term I'd take the older three to Quidditch on Mondays, while Draco took the little ones to Gymnastics. That way, Aquila and Danny could take Art on Tuesdays with the little ones. Although, if Teddy liked Gymnastics better than Art, he could go with Draco on Mondays to Gymnastics and Draco would drop him off at the Quidditch pitch on the way to taking the others to Art, since the pitch and the art studio were adjacent.

"Really? Is that okay, Harry? Gran?" Teddy asked, looking first to me and then to his grandmother.

"Yes, that's perfectly fine, Teddy. Draco will take good care of you, so you can go with him as long as you listen to him," Dromeda answered and I nodded.

"Cool. Alright, yeah, I'll go," Teddy agreed.

"Great," Draco said. "Now there is just one more matter we need to discuss."

"What?" Teddy asked and the other children chimed in with the same.

"What we are going to do for the rest of the week. Harry and I have both taken the week off from work," Draco revealed.

"That's right, I have," I confirmed. After Ron and I had finally closed the big murder case, we were due for some vacation.

"And I have rented a cabin in Switzerland for the week, to make up for the horrible vacation Jack took you on," Draco announced.

There was a chorus of cheers from the children.

"Are you going too, Grandmother?" Aquila asked Narcissa, when the noise died down.

"Yes. As a matter of fact, we are all going. For the first time since we were little, I will be sharing a room with my sister," Cissy answered, smiling warmly as she looked towards Dromeda, who smiled back and nodded.

"Actually, everyone will be sharing. All of the boys in one room, all the girls in another, and Harry is with me," Draco explained.

It was a one story, four bedroom cabin with only two bathrooms; far tighter quarters than any of us were used to. I wasn't sure how wise it was to cram all of the children into a small cabin. Draco, on the other hand, thought it was a good idea to force them together so that they could get used to each other. They would get out their squabbles now and become closer friends, because they'd be forced to play together. It had the potential for disaster, but on the plus side, it was only for a week and then we would be back at the Manor where all of the kids had their own rooms and they would be more appreciative of the space.

"I don't want to room with Quuleus. She cries in the night," Aquila complained.

"Tough. The boys have three in their room and you only have two, so you will just have to be happy with what you get," Draco replied.

"I'd rather Quuleus than Danny; he snores!" Cepheus exclaimed.

"That's enough. If I hear one more argument, we aren't going," Draco warned.

Cepheus and Aquila huffed in their seats, but said nothing.

"I can't wait to go. This is gonna be so much fun!" Danny exclaimed.

"Yeah, it's gonna be way cool!" Teddy echoed the sentiment. As only children, they were both more appreciative of the proposed trip.

"Great!" I exclaimed, happy that mine, at least, was eager to go.

"Are we leaving tonight?" Aquila asked.

"No, tonight we are packing. We will leave in the morning," Cissy explained.

"No class, no party, no fun?" Cepheus asked, pouting.

"We will tell stories after you all pack," Draco answered.

"I want to paint," Aquila protested, arms in front of her chest.

"I wanna fly," Danny put in. Teddy agreed, but less forcefully, as if he were afraid he might get in trouble for joining the revolt.

"I want to play cars," Cepheus added.

"Play," Equuleus put in.

"Then the lot of you better pack fast. If it's not done before bath time, there will be no playing," Draco warned, before dismissing the kids from the table to do just that.

The rest of the night was hectic with packing. There did end up being forty-five minutes for play, which meant that when bath time came around, Teddy and Danny were covered in mud from flying and Aquila and Equuleus were covered in paint from their art. Cepheus, who had spent the time quietly playing cars by himself in his room, was the only one not filthy.

"I should get Pheus a broom for his birthday," I told Draco that night as we climbed into bed together. Cepheus was turning five and I'd gotten Teddy a broom for his fifth birthday.

"You know, he already has one, don't you?" Draco asked, pulling back the covers on his side.

"Then why didn't he go flying with Danny and Teddy?" I asked, taking my glasses off and setting them on the table beside the bed.

Draco shrugged. "He prefers his cars. He's always been my quiet one. He can play for hours by himself."

"Even when there's a house full of kids?"

"Even then." He looked me in the eye, measuring me up, before adding, "This is about his party on Saturday. You are worried, because you haven't found him a present yet."

This Saturday promised to be the biggest Malfoy party yet, because not only were the usual lot coming, but so too were a slew of other kids and Draco's family and friends. Turning five was a big deal and from the sounds of things, Draco was going all out for it.

"Well yes. I know you said that you already have presents for him and you'll just add my name, but I want to get him something myself," I said.

"Cepheus is the easiest of the lot to shop for, really. Just go into any Muggle toy store and pick any toy auto and he'll be happy. Charm on some flowers and he'll love you forever."

"If you're sure."

"I am. Now enough of the children; it's our first night together as live-in boyfriends. What do you think we should do about that?" he asked, leaning over me with a predatory look.

I stretched up and planted a kiss on his lips, pulling him down to the bed with me, to let him know exactly what I wanted.

* * *

Author's note: I hope you are all having a wonderful Christmas! I'm not normally one to receive decent gifts, but this year seems to have hit rock bottom: for a gift, my daughter gave me a moth larva that she found in the kitchen. She claimed it was a joke gift, but it was all disgusting and no funny. To make up for a bad start, I'd love some reviews from all of you for Christmas!

Oh, and I'm sure you've noticed that the story is wrapping up. I'm thinking maybe two chapters after this one.

Please Review!


	17. Chapter 17

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay. These two scenes have been giving me trouble in terms of not wanting to flesh out into full chapters.

* * *

Tuesday night at the cabin after dinner, Teddy climbed into my arms and rested his head on my shoulder, which was unusual for him. Normally he was active, not subdued, and wanted nothing to do with sappy displays of affection.

"What's wrong cub," I asked, swiping his teal bangs to the side and out of his face.

"They never stop going, do they?" Teddy asked lethargically.

It was true that we'd been active all day. It started with Draco and me taking the older children out skiing, while Dromeda and Cissy watched the baby. When we returned, frozen to the bone, we all took hot showers to warm up and ate hot stew for lunch.

Afterwards was art time, with Draco supervising as the children painted, the lot of them singing while they worked. Draco even charmed their finished creations to life. Teddy's was a simple smiley face, but once charmed, began shifting rapidly from one happy face to the other, covering everyone who was there with us in the cabin. It would've been a masterpiece, if the thing didn't change so fast it felt nauseating to watch; as it was, Draco promised to have Cepheus' art teacher slow it down.

Just when I thought some quiet time was in order and wanted to lay down with Equuleus for what looked like a well-deserved nap, Draco brought out the practice swords and announced it was time for some fencing. That had been great fun, but thoroughly exhausting.

To top off a long day, Draco's wife and her boyfriend popped in for dinner. I was surprised to realize that she wasn't the most maternal of mothers, being rather stiff with her own children. But she did allow them to call her Mummy, instead of Mother, as Narcissa had done with Draco. I got the impression that she didn't mean to be standoffish, she just was. She and her boyfriend seemed more like the other grandparents than the other parents, especially because they were a decade and a half older than Draco and me.

The children had all been on their best behavior while company was here, but now that Camella and her boyfriend were gone, they were back to running around the small cabin living room, as if we hadn't spent the entire day doing physical activity after physical activity.

"I guess not," I answered, snuggling Teddy while he would let me.

"I can't wait until this 'cation is over. I'm gonna lock myself in my new room and never come out again," Teddy said into my chest.

"You'll get used to it. Besides, I thought you said you wanted brothers and sisters."

"Yeah, _'fore_ I knew how much work they are."

I chuckled.

Teddy and I sat there resting, just watching as the Malfoys wreaked havoc around us.

"Teddy! Father said we can go star gazing tonight, if you'll come along. Say yes, please," Aquila announced, practically jumping with energy.

"No, I just wanna stay with Harry," Teddy replied.

"Why do you call your dad Harry?" Danny asked, coming up besides Aquila.

"'Cause I do," Teddy answered. "He's Harry."

"Teddy has always called me Harry. I didn't adopt him until he was three," I explained.

"Daddy didn't 'dopt me until I was three and Father still hasn't 'dopted me, but I don't call 'em Jack and Draco," Danny replied.

"Well I do," Teddy said grumpily. He was clearly too tired to be having this conversation.

"Do you not like being called Daddy, Harry?" Aquila asked me.

"No, you can call me whatever you like, just as long as you call me Uncle Harry in public," I answered. I was fine just being Harry; I'd been just Harry all my life.

"We have a lot of Daddy's. There's my daddy, there's Mummy's boyfriend, and now there's Father's boyfriend," Danny said. I'd been surprised to learn that he called Draco's wife Mummy like the rest of the children, but then his real mother was dead, so there was no other mum in his life. Sure there was Jack's sister, but he'd only lived with her for six months and she'd always been auntie. On the other hand, Draco's wife barely ever saw the boy, because when the Malfoy kids went to their mother's on Sundays, Danny went to his grandmother's, usually seeing Jack and his aunt in the process.

"How about calling him Papa," Draco suggested, taking the seat next to me with Equuleus in his arms. The moment he was down, Equuleus shimmied down and took off running. She made it across the room to Cepheus, where she snagged one of his toy cars and began pushing it around.

"Papa," Aquila said, trying out the sound of it.

"Papa is fine. No rush though; Harry works too," I insisted.

"I'm not calling you Papa. You're my Harry," Teddy said.

"Fine with me, kiddo. You're my Teddy," I replied.

"Father, can we still go star gazing without Teddy?" Aquila asked Draco.

"No, I'm afraid not. We will go tomorrow. Tonight will be stories," Draco announced.

There were protests from all of the kids besides Teddy, but Draco held firm. We sat around and listened as Draco made up stories, asking the children for input as he went. Afterwards, the lot of them went into the dining room for dessert, but Teddy passed and I opted to stay put with him. It was a pinch for me, let me tell you, because I loved my dessert, but I loved Teddy more.

"Are you feeling sick, Teddy?" I asked, pressing my hand to his forehead. He felt cool enough.

"No! I just don't want any more sweets," Teddy said with a harrumph.

"Alright. You know, I meant what I said earlier: it's your choice what you call me. I'm fine being Harry forever, but if you want to call me Daddy or Papa, then that's fine too," I said.

"But what about my parents?"

"They're still your parents. Remus Lupin will always be your dad."

Teddy nodded into my chest. "Do you think Cousin Draco is gonna make me call him Father?"

"No, of course not. If you want to call him that, then it's your choice."

"Sometimes I do." He shrugged. "Sometimes I don't."

"Whatever you want."

"I do want to call Quila and Quuleus my sisters and Pheus my brother," he admitted.

"What about Danny?"  
"I don't really know him."

"But you're getting on alright with him, aren't you?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"Good. It's fine with me if you call them all your brothers and sisters, but it might make Danny feel bad if you don't include him. Maybe you should hold back until you know him better," I suggested.

"Alright."

"Is this vacation really so horrible, kiddo?"

"No. It's just too much," Teddy admitted.

"Well maybe tomorrow you can have quiet reading time while Equuleus has her nap."

"And miss fencing!?" Teddy asked aghast.

"Or not," I replied.

"Definitely _not_!" Teddy thought for a moment, before saying, "But maybe I could read while they paint."

"I doubt Draco will have the same activities planned for tomorrow, but we'll work something out."

Teddy nodded into my chest.

We stayed like that until it was bedtime. I tucked Teddy into the bottom bunk in the boy's room, bending over Cepheus, who was already asleep on the trundle bed, a large flower covered VW bug clutched to his chest.

As I was turning off the light, Danny surprised me, by leaning over the top bunk and calling, "'Night Daddy." He was the first child to ever call me that and also the one I'd least expected it from. But then he seemed to work harder for attention from adults than the others.

"'Night Harry," Teddy added.

"Goodnight," I called back, a warm feeling in my chest.

* * *

"I hope you like it," I said, handing the package over to the birthday boy.

It was Saturday, the day of Cepheus' fifth birthday party. There were so many people crammed into the Manor grounds that it looked like a fair. The entire front lawn was set up with fun activities and the people were still spilling over into the side lawn. I'd even seen a few dozen kids playing out back earlier. It was by far the largest birthday party I'd ever seen. I was hoping it was only this big, because turning five was a big deal. With any luck, Equuleus' party in a few weeks would be more reasonably sized.

I'd spent the day supervising and making sure our kids were having a good time. I'd had to do a bit of smoozing, but had ducked out of it claiming official party duties that I was responsible for attending too. There was enough cheer and birthday fun to drive any adult crazy, but at least the kids were having a blast.

Cepheus unwrapped my present, asking, "What is it?" Then he got enough of it open to see that the fabric was covered in a car pattern and looked a bit confused. He was silent as he pulled it out and let the pleated skirt fall to the ground. Then a huge smile broke out. "A car dress!? You got me a car dress! This is soooooo awesome! Thank you Harry!" He jumped up and hugged me, squishing his full skirt between us.

"I'm glad you like it, Cepheus," I said, hugging him back.

I'd had Madam Malkin make it for him. He loved dresses and he loved cars, but I'd yet to see him with a combination of the two. I'd been hoping it was because this was the one thing he didn't have yet and it looked like I was right.

Cepheus had a stack of presents that looked like a small mountain to go through from the great many guests. The stack was filled with dresses and cars, along with many things he didn't actually like, but people thought he'd like, based on his gender—trousers and boy clothes—and on his choice in clothing—dolls and girl toys. Draco already told me they were used to getting a lot of unwanted things for Cepheus and he had a visit to an orphanage planned so that they could give away the girl toys and the boy clothes.

"I love it! It's the best dress ever! I want to wear it right now!" he exclaimed, despite the fact that he was currently wearing a sparkly princess gown with as big of a puffy skirt that I'd ever seen. I knew he loved what he was wearing, because he'd begged Draco to let him wear it early half a dozen times in the past week. It was quite the compliment that he'd consider the dress I'd given him worthy of changing into when wearing what he was wearing.

"After the party, Pheus, but not now. You have a lot more gifts to open," Draco said to his son, before turning to me. "Excellent job Harry. That dress will definitely do, if you're trying to get on his good side, that is."

I smiled at the compliment, my heart warming with the praise. If I could do this right, then maybe I really could make this work with Draco. Maybe I could really have the happy family with five wonderful children, just like I'd always wanted. Maybe Cepheus wasn't the heir I'd imagined for Draco, but he was a wonderful kid. Aquila was smart and adventurous, just like I'd always wanted in a daughter. Danny was a good strong oldest child, if a bit too eager to please. Equuleus, although turning two inside a month, was still the adorable little baby perfect for fawning over. Teddy, as usual, was my little wizard; he had my back. And Draco, he was superdad, taking care of everyone and making sure they were all happy and healthy, including me.

* * *

Author's Note: There is just one chapter left. As a result, I just started posting a new story called The Ancient and Most Noble House of Black! It's another Drarry, but back to my usual mpreg this time. Please go check it out.

Please review!


	18. Chapter 18

"I, Auror Harry Potter, would like to say how appalled I am by Lord Draco Malfoy, who I happen to be cohabitating with due to medical concerns for our shared loved one Andromeda Tonks. Malfoy is stuck centuries in the past with his same-sex marriage proposal. The Council of Elders is a useless, defunct organization that is so outdated that one insufficient patch here or another there cannot possibly hope to save it. This proposal is too little too late. The rest of the world has accepted same-sex marriage for years. Why do we even need this? As a proud member of the gay community, I have been enjoying the same rights in Wizarding society as everyone else. Now I'm supposed to believe I need some defunct gas-bags to tell me it's okay to be me, like it wasn't before? No. Therefore I am publically coming out against Malfoy's proposal," I said, taking my turn in front of the press conference.

Draco had asked me to come out against him on this. It seemed that whenever I opposed one of his proposals, it was a shoe-in to pass. I had inverse influence, because they were anti-Potter and therefore anti-everything I said. Most of the time he told me to stay out of his Council affairs. Every once in a while there was something he wanted killed and asked me to come out in support of. Sometimes I did, but only if I really thought it was truly awful, which led to some rather odd statements attributed to me being published in the Papers. At least I'd actually said them.

Draco and I had been together for years. It wasn't until our five year anniversary that he'd suggested it might be time to start his push for equal rights for homosexuals with the Council. He thought he'd finally worked his way up to it and all of the groundwork was laid. I thought it was about time, because little Cepheus was getting older and the older he got, the more people began to suspect he was gay too.

Now, two years later when the proposal was about to be passed, Cepheus was off at Hogwarts for his first year, finally joining Aquila, Danny, and Teddy. There was a bit of problem when it came to ordering his school uniforms, because he'd immediately wanted the skirts when the shop keeper insisted the boys were supposed to have trousers. Draco had explained the issue to his son, but ultimately let Cepheus decide. When Cepheus had said he still wanted the skirts, Draco had purchased both and sent both along to school. That way Cepheus could be himself and he'd have something warmer to wear on cold winter days. The head of his house had sent a letter home about it first week and then again when the teasing from other students was evidently a problem, but Draco had stuck by his son and Cepheus had so far stuck by his sense of fashion.

Any day now puberty would set in and then Cepheus would come home telling us about the cute boys in his classes. Any day now it would be official that Council member Draco Malfoy's son and heir was gay. There was an urgency to Draco's equal rights proposal.

There was also a benefit to me and him. I was openly gay, had been for years. Draco was newly divorced, ink barely dry on the parchment. And we were living together; had been for years. We'd raised our children together, Teddy slotting himself into Draco's overbooked activity schedule until he'd gone off to Hogwarts with the others. Draco's kids all called me Papa and even Teddy had taken up the name. Sometimes Teddy even called Draco Father. All of that led to the rumors that Draco and I were a thing.

Loads of people knew of our long term relationship. A few of them weren't even tongue-tied against talking about it. But the people who weren't tongue-tied weren't the type to talk. However, those who hadn't been told and didn't have any actual confirmation, still suspected. It was obvious we were more than cohabitants of Malfoy Manor. We were gossiped about by witches all over the country. It was only a matter of time before everyone knew.

Whenever I gave a statement to the press, I had to be very careful about what I said. If Draco came up, then I'd have to pretend we still didn't get on. I'd say I disagreed with whatever he was doing politically, sometimes making up absurd reasons to go against him. I'd cite fundamental irreconcilable differences between us and claim that it was only Dromeda's deteriorating healthy, when in fact she was doing fine, that forced us to live together. But I couldn't keep lying forever. A day was coming when everyone would know that I, Harry James Potter, was madly in love with Lord Draco Malfoy. We needed this measure passed as much as Cepheus did.

My statement must have paid off, because a week later the Council of Elders called a press conference to announce a very important development. Draco warned me that it was going to be big and judging by the smile on his face, I knew it would be good. I took off work to see it.

An overweight wizard who was so old he was practically bent over from his humped back, shifted forward, taking the central position in the group of ancient Purebloods. He looked to be about two hundred and the oldest of the group, making him the leader. Draco and Narcissa Malfoy were among them, each obviously half a century or more younger than the others.

The third youngest of the group cleared his throat and then a chorus of throat clearing went around the group, indicating that they were about to start.

The leader spoke in a shaky, gravelly voice with a quiver, "We, the Council of Elders of all of Wizarding Britain, hereby announce that the following decision has been made: Homosexual proclivities are no longer against Pureblood law. Same sex marriage is now legal and available to all same-sexed Wizarding couples who wish to keep with the old, true ways. No longer shall we persecute productive members of our society based on sexual orientation. In fact, we hereby declare that those of a homosexual nature shall be given equal rights in all things, including serving on the most esteemed council in the land, governing all of Great Britain, our very own Council of Elders. That is all."

A round of cheering went up around the crowd. The reporters erupted with questions, wanting details of how the landmark decision was made.

My heart soared, thinking of the possibilities for me. After all these years, Draco and I could finally make our relationship official. We could shout it from the rooftops. We were free. We were free to love each other. Free to divulge our wonderful, loving relationship to anyone. Free to openly admit that our children are being raised together. Free to let the children talk of us to their friends at school. Free to call little Equuleus, the last one at home, my daughter.

Equuleus was a girly girl. She was our little princess, our baby. Now that she was our only child at home, we showered her with attention, dreading the day when she too would be off to Hogwarts and our nest would be empty. We were already telling Danny that he needed to move back home as soon as he graduated, so that we wouldn't be all alone when Equuleus leaves. There would be no London flat the first year at least, ever if you asked Draco, not because we didn't have the money, but because we needed him at home, to fill a void.

"I have something further to say," Draco said, stepping forward as the noise died down. He waited until the crowd finally quieted before continuing. "I, Lord Malfoy, am a homosexual. I have been involved in a homosexual relationship with Auror Harry Potter." He paused as the crowd went wild again, the roar tenfold what it was for the real announcement. It took a good ten minutes before the sense that there was more to be said quieted the crowd. "Let it be known that I love him dearly. At this point, I would like to ask, in front of the entire Wizarding World, will you, Harry James Potter, marry me?" The last was directed to me, his eyes locked solely on mine.

This time you would think I'd defeated Lord Voldemort all over again, the cheering was so loud. There was no waiting for me to give an answer. There was just a deafening roar of clapping and voices, shouts of excitement and well wishes. There was dashing about by reporters, eager to get this set out in a special addition of the paper. There were photographers with flashbulbs blazing as they rushed to capture every historic moment.

In the utter madness of it all, Draco left the stage and started towards me. The crowd slowly made way for him, shouting questions at him as he went. It took several minutes, but then the crowd parted and there he stood in front of me, smiling. He dropped to one knee in front of me and took my hand. Then he produced a ring, just a simple gold band, took my left hand, and looked up to me.

I didn't think anything could quiet this crowd, but that did it. The noise dropped down to a murmur as they waited for my response.

I gave Draco a slight nod and said, "Yes! I've just been waiting for you to ask!"

With that Draco slipped the ring on my finger. Then he rose, engulfed me in a hug, and kissed me passionately. I kissed him back, determined to show everyone how in love I was with this man. We snogged until we were out of breath.

Then Draco said, "I love you," into my ear, because the crowd was roaring again. Photographer cameras were flashing again. Reporters were dashing around again. But he was the only thing I could see, the only voice my ears could hear.

I said, "I love you too."

"Let's go home," he shouted into my ear, barely audible over the din.

I nodded and took his hand. I side-alonged him out of there, wondering how we were going to tell the kids. We'd have to interrupt Equuleus' homeschool class to tell her. The others would likely hear before we could reach them. But still, we had to try. A trip to Hogwarts was definitely on the agenda in the immediate future. The future looked brighter than ever before. I was finally going to marry the wizard of my dreams and I could not be happier.

* * *

Author's Note: There you have it. I will leave the wedding and the informing of the children up to you to imagine. I hope you have all enjoyed the story and to hear from you in the form of a review.

As usual, when one story comes to a close, I start posting a new one. The Ancient and Most Noble House of Black is the type of mpreg Drarry story that I typically write. In it, Draco manages to get past the wards of his ancestral home and into Grimmauld Place and Harry's bed. I highly recommend checking it out! (slash) works (slash) 5692003 (slash) chapters (slash) 13112236


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